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A rural county in Michigan is implementing its first Syringe Service Program (SSP). This came at a time when the state reported that more and more people were diagnosed with HIV as a result of injecting drug use. SSP provides sterile syringes to people who inject drugs such as heroin to prevent the spread of diseases through shared needles.
On November 24, the Central Michigan District Health Commission voted to approve the SSP. The region represents Montcalm, Clinton, and Glashutte counties. The SSP will be opened first in Montcalm County, and then if county officials are satisfied that it is functioning well, it will then be expanded to Clinton and Gratiot. According to Michigan law, syringes are considered illegal drug paraphernalia. However, it is legal to use sterile syringes as a public health intervention if authorized by a government agency.
Currently, the nearest to residents of SSP Montcalm County is Ionia, which is more than 22 miles away from its largest city, Greenville. The county will work with the Red Project, a non-profit organization in Grand Rapids, which already operates syringe services across the state.
"The best practice regarding syringe access is to provide syringes as needed," Red Project executive director Steve Alsum told Filter. "So work with each client, discuss with them how often they inject, when they can participate in the program, how many people in their social network have injections...then take this opportunity when we see the participants Provide them with the required number of syringes so that they can use a sterile syringe for every injection."
The Michigan Department of Health recently reported an abnormal increase in HIV diagnoses in Montcalm County, which is related to injecting drug use.
Some city and state projects follow "one-to-one" guidelines, and they may be required to do so. This means that each participant will only get one syringe for each used syringe returned. This approach violates scientific consensus-including the CDC-on the best way to reduce blood-borne diseases. Fortunately, Red Project provides customers with the required quantity.
In addition to the syringe service, the Red Project also provides rapid HIV and hepatitis C testing. It will not actually operate the SSP in Moncham County, but will provide training and other support to the health department when the program is launched.
The Michigan Department of Health recently reported an abnormal increase in HIV diagnoses in Montcalm County, which is related to injecting drug use. At the same time, the HIV diagnosis rate across Michigan is declining.
There are currently no data on HIV diagnosis in Montcalm County, but the HIV prevalence has historically been relatively low. In 2019, the county had 54.7 HIV infections per 100,000 people. In contrast, Detroit has 713.3 per 100,000 people.
According to data provided to the county committee, the naloxone administered by Montcalm County caregivers is also well below the state's average-although opioid-related deaths are 1.7 times the state's average. So far this year, 21 people in the county have died of suspected drug overdose. This is equivalent to 33 per 100,000 people-significantly higher than the national death rate of 21.6 per 100,000 people in 2019.
It is not clear what other services will be provided by the SSP in Montcalm County. A public information officer from the Central Michigan District Health Department rejected Filter’s request for comment, saying only that it’s too early to share details.
Alsum also emphasized that the details of the new SSP have not yet been finalized. But since the county agreed to work with his organization to train them, he suspects that these services will be very similar to those currently provided by the Red Project. He estimated that if all goes well, the plan should open in January 2022 at the earliest.
Photo of the Red Project in the Grand Rapids Disaster Mitigation Service, from Facebook.
Alexander is a contributing writer for Filter. He wrote about the campaign to end the drug war. He grew up in New Jersey and swears it's really okay. He is also a musician, hoping to change the world through the power of ledgers and legislation. Alexander was formerly an editorial researcher for the filter.
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