Transcript Building Trust With the Injection Drug Community

Building Trust
With the
Injection Drug
Community
Megan Hatta, RN
Is Syringe Exchange
for me?
Steps Toward Trust
Dignity and respect
Validate the stigma cycle
Remain direct and factual
Restore self worth
Dignity and Respect
Why do you use needle
exchange?
 They smile at me
 They do not judge me
 They are nice.
 I can get the things I need without hassle
 They listen to me
“You don’t have to feel
ashamed that you do your
drug that way. They don’t
look down at you.”
“There is human
contact. They will help
you get better or feel
better at least. They
can help you change if
you want it.”
Stigma
Why do
you care?
Junkie
Diseased
Criminal
Crack Head
“Once a Junkie, Always a Junkie”
Direct and Factual
Used Needle
Restore Self Worth
“I have changed my view from looking at
myself as someone who doesn’t have
anything to contribute or isn’t worth
anything. I see myself as someone who
can put back into the community and can
contribute to the community. I can look
for jobs, I can find a job and contribute;
even with my drug use I can still do
things. It has given me back my life.””
Why Trust Matters
Outcomes: Treatment
Individuals using syringe
exchange program 5 times more
likely to seek treatment
Outcomes: Treatment
The Federal Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration
found syringe services programs:
25% more successful than the
other programs
Outcomes: Harm Reduction
Decreased needle stick to law
enforcement by two thirds in
Connecticut.
Reduced rates of HIV in past 10
years among PWID
Outcomes: Hepatitis C
Portsmith, Ohio, reported near 55%
decrease in one year of needle
exchange.
Pittsburgh: 64% drop in needle
sharing after 3 months of using
syringe exchange
Outcomes: Naloxone
CDC: 1996-2010 trained 53,032
people with 10,171 drug reversals.
Drop in mortality rates in San
Francisco, Chicago, Massachusetts,
New York City
You can’t lift
someone up
unless they
trust you