SCOTT COUNTY, Ind. — Scott County, Indiana commissioners are weighing the future of the county’s syringe program and community members are urging them to keep it.
There was a packed town hall in Scottsburg on Tuesday night to discuss the program, which started in 2015 during an HIV outbreak as people facing drug addiction shared needles.
The program is credited with successfully driving down the transmission rate of HIV and Hepatitis C.
At a news conference before the meeting, resident Donna Smith said several of her family members use the program.
“They gave people lifesaving education and counseling – they still do,” she said. “They gave the people who walked through those doors, hope.”
Critics said the program enables addicts by supplying fresh needles.
The county commission has to periodically reauthorize the program.
The Scott County Health Department Administrator said a vote on the program originally scheduled for May 18 has been pushed back.
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