In class Slice of Life

Slice of Life – Matt Phillips

Descending the stairs into the humid basement of the Pacific building on University of Oregon’s campus isn’t the only queue to prompt you into feeling as if you have entered a different world. Murmurs of bits and pieces of scattered languages spill out into the hall from each classroom. The corridor is long and narrow so you must walk down the middle to avoid the legs jutting out from slumped bodies with their backs planted against each white brick wall.

Nervous chatter can be overheard outside one particular doorway as students discuss their fate; a test is only 10 minutes away. A few students chose to spend their last few moments of freedom hidden deep in the music of their headphones.

The view from the cold tile floor tells the story of these students’ fait very clearly. It’s judgment day for French 103. A professor wearing a black jacket with his dark hair gelled back turns down the lights and begins to show film that the students are supposed to analyze.

After the film ends, the teacher begins wheeling around the room on an oversized recliner office chair, stopping briefly near each group of clustered guests to eavesdrop. You can spot the sigh of relief on one young girls face as she gets passed by without being called on. A young man sitting by the window is not so lucky.

“Quel est le nom du professeur d’histoire?” the professor snaps off in very quick and very polished accent. The young man shakes his head and smiles as if to say, “I have no idea.”

“Professeur Graycon,” the teacher responds as a few heads in the class nod silently.

More broken responses of mixed English and French, blank faces, and stumbling voices fill the time until the class hurriedly begins to pack up to leave.

A girl in the hall in a green jacket and white scarf digs furiously through her notes as the previous class systematically fills out and heads directly towards the light at the top of the stairs. Escape.

 

Support Local Needle Exchange Programs

“I was a hardcore meth dealer in this town for 20 years,” Randy muses as he reclines in his foldout chair and slides a cigarette behind his ear. In the background, volunteers unload boxes of syringes from the nearby van, and set up supplies and pamphlets on portable tables. “Pretty much all of the drug addicts that are here are drug addicts that I used to deal drugs to, “ he explains.

Randy Burnett is a volunteer with Eugene, Oregon’s HIV Alliance, Lane County’s only needle exchange program. After 57 different felony convictions and nine years in prison, Randy decided he wanted to change his life around. He began volunteering with the HIV Alliance in order to give back to the lives he felt he destroyed as a methamphetamine dealer.

“I’m just doing as much as I can to give back. I was Satan’s soldier for a good number of years, and now I can go on the other side of the fence,” says Randy.

Randy is living proof that local needle exchange programs are valuable resources that provide beneficial services to injection drug users and thwart the spread of disease such as HIV/AIDs and Hepatitis C. However, not all community members accept the idea of supporting needle exchange programs. Many people believe that needle exchange programs enable addicts to continue their dangerous drug habits. The controversy surrounding needle exchange programs causes many to question, should communities support needle exchange programs?

Jeff Nichols, the coordinator of the HIV Alliance needle exchange program supports needle exchange programs for the benefits they provide to the injection drug users (IDUs) and the local community. The HIV Alliance provides a needle exchange in a safe location where IDUs can bring their used needles and exchange them for sterile needles. The used needles are then taken to a hospital where they are burned. The Eugene Police Department has an agreement with the HIV Alliance to ensure that IDUs feel comfortable exchanging needles without the risk of legal issues.

Jeff Nichols believes that needle exchange programs are crucial to IDUs because not only do clean needles help lower the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C, but also because the programs provide rehab and detox services, free testing and access to health care. As an adult, if an addict is not ready to quit, they are not going to. However, the needle exchange provides a way for these addicts to have access to crucial services until they are ready to quit. As Jeff Nichols expains, “Needle exchange programs provide a safe haven where users can go and receive treatment or services that they might not otherwise be offered in the community.”

Not only are IDUs affected by the HIV Alliance, but it also provides safer public spaces. Needle exchanges conduct needle clean-ups, where the communities are scoured for used needles and then disposed of properly. This needle clean-up ultimately provides a safer environment for the public. By integrating needle exchange programs in a community, IDUs are given a safe injection opportunity and they are encouraged to receive treatment.

However, not all community members are willing to support needle exchange programs. Some believe that needle exchange programs enable addicts to continue their drug habits, and therefore increase the use of injection drugs. This concern, which was valid when needle exchange programs were introduced over 30 years ago, is disproved by numerous accredited medical journals and field studies. Research from a study by Yale University shows that needle exchange programs dramatically reduce the amount of drug injection use, and reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by one-third (Yale).

In 1988, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services stated that federal funding to clean needle organizations would remain at a standstill until they could prove that distributing clean needles could reduce the spread of HIV. As of 2010, government support and funding is still absent and is a major contributing factor to why these programs are still looked upon with skepticism.

Contrary to the arguments against the implementation of the needle exchange programs, evidence still shows that these programs reduce the number of users across the country. For individuals looking to change their habits and current lifestyle, these programs offer supportive services for treatment and recovery to individuals who may not have access to social services otherwise.

The primary counterargument focuses on President Obama’s new plan for the “war on drugs”, because the statistics demonstrate the success of these programs. One press release with details of Obama’s new plan states, “Obama signed a measure repealing a two-decade-old ban on the use of federal money for needle-exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV” (Fox News Online). This governmental support of the needle exchange programs is further justified by, “the new drug control strategy boosts community-based anti-drug programs, encourages health care providers to screen for drug problems before addiction sets in and expands treatment beyond specialty centers to mainstream health care facilities” (Hananel, Associated Press).

The new plan focuses primarily on community programs because past policies concentrated on law enforcement. That approach wasted a significant amount of money because users cycled through the criminal justice system, rather than being directed to facilities that target the actual drug use (Modern HealthCare Online). If users lack the education, information and resources, then they will continue to practice their habits and view prison as a trivial process.

While the Obama administration strives to work with needle exchange programs, there is still a long way to go. To achieve a decrease in current users, communities must support needle exchange programs. Needle exchange programs go beyond solely providing services in order to transform lifestyles. Research proves that it is a viable, cost-effective solution to decreasing injection drug use, and stopping the spread of disease (Yale)

According to Randy, there is no argument against needle exchange programs. He wants to continue volunteering with the HIV Alliance because he truly believes in the effectiveness of the program. To Randy, the needle exchange had a significant, positive impact on his life, which he would not have received otherwise.

“Today I am just a helper,” Randy says with a smile. “That’s all I want to do is see people change their lives. Because if I can do it, anyone can do it.”

[Further details regarding Obama’s new plan can be found in the blog post titled, “New Plan for ‘War on Drugs’”.]

Multimedia Projects

Above is the poster that is designed to target injection drug users (IDU). Currently, the HIV alliance does not have any form of advertisements for IDU besides word of mouth.

With this design, I wanted to shock people with statistics because I thought that would be a good attention grabber. Once viewers are interested in the poster, it gives it a “call to action” feel. My hope is that an injection drug user would see this poster and decide that they should become more educated about the local needle exchange because they are directly affected by the information.

As far as design goes, I wanted a simple design so that viewers were not overwhelmed by clutter, but I made sure that the colors correlated with each other. The positive is red because it is inferring that the 9 characters are infected with HIV, whereas the white is not. The slogan “be the one that doesn’t” is supposed to encourage viewers to use safe injection practices. I put this in all capital letters in Helvetica font because I felt that it gave off the appropriate tone of unjudgemental yet it still calls people to action. I specifically designed the poster so that the eyes would move down the page to the real message. The “9 out of 10” is supposed to catch the viewers eye, and then lead them down to the message of being the one that does not get infected with HIV as a result of not sharing needles.

Since drug injection is a touchy subject, it was very important for me to appear purely informational, and not generalize the target audience by giving off a judgmental tone. I also made sure that I used proper language (for example, it would be completely inappropriate to say “drug users” because they prefer the term “people who inject”). Overall, the poster is intended to show viewers why they should inject safely, and that the HIV alliance is a place that can help them.

-Kelsey Wilkins

This PSA is designed to appeal to all viewers in the community. Needle Exchange programs are not only designed to help injection drug users, but also to pick up used needles around the community. According to the HIV alliance, they usually pick up an average of 30-40 needles per day.

This is our final multimedia project. It is intended to give information about needle exchange programs, but also show viewers the significant impact that it has on the lives of injection drug users. Special thanks to Randy Burnett and Jeff Nichols for participating in our interview!

More Cosmetic Drugs, More Problems

The United Kingdom finds itself at odds with a new boom in the usage of dangerous cosmetic drugs. People using cosmetic drugs such as Melanotan and Steroids are now outnumbering crack cocaine and methamphetamine addicts.

Alistair Ramsay, who runs Drugwise Needle Exchange in Scotland, explains: “Needle-sharing among bodybuilders has been a problem for some time. It’s often the case with people using steroids that they’ll start out with someone else’s needle. And because needle exchanges usually operate a one-for-one swap, only then will they be given clean injecting equipment” (Herbert)

However, the use of the newer cosmetic drug Melanotan creates new problems. The drug is a tanning aid that makes skin appear darker. “With the tanning drugs being relatively new, we do not know what the long-term effects will be,” says Ramsay. Many health officials say, “cosmetic drug injectors run the same risks of catching HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C as heroin and cocaine addicts.” Recently, the drug skyrocketed in popularity, but this rise results in a rise in addicts collecting free syringes from needle exchanges.

Government programs are not sure if they have the capability to provide the amount of needles that are in demand. “A recent NHS study found that more than half of Scotland’s needle exchange agencies and pharmacies are regularly visited by the injectors of cosmetic drugs– in some places making up 20 per cent” (Herbert). As of now, Scotland’s government is attempting to create new needle exchange guidelines, but struggles because most users of cosmetic drugs are often in employment.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/177474/Needle-exchanges-for-tan-addicts

Blog post written by Kelsey Wilkins

Tajikistan Prisons Pilot Needle Exchange Program

The adoption of a needle exchange program by Tajikistan prisons can be seen as a pilot effort towards international acceptance of these controversial disease prevention practices.

The Department of Correction Affairs is responsible for the implementation of such an exchange program in Tajikistan. A rapid assessment in 2009 by the Tajik government identified the country’s prison system as a high-risk communicable disease location and a prime location for a harm reduction program. Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs (NSEP) had proven results in the reduction of HIV and Hepatitis C communication among prisoners in various other countries that chose to implement them. NSEP are described as “safe both for staff in prisoners and promote decrease and harness risky behaviors as well as the rate of blood borne diseases” by the United Nations Development Program.

The proven success of the Needle Syringe Exchange Programs led to the signing of a decree in January 2010 by the Department of Correction Affairs beginning NSEP in prisons of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The first stage of this implementation occurred in February of this year and consisted of “training and raising knowledge on the urgency and specifics of NSEP implementation for staff and prisoners in the prison” according to a United Nations Development Program Newsletter. The second stage of implementation involves appointments to educate individual prisoners regarding safe needle use practices and many are scheduled to be conducted in the near future.

On a global scale there is a 14.7 percent adult HIV prevalence among injecting drug users according to International Harm Reduction Association’s Global State of Harm Reduction. Implementation of programs such as NSEP by international governments are key to educating individuals on risks associated with sharing injection needles and lowering disease transmission statistics.

Matt Phillips

Source:

news

App Sketch Analysis

Short description: All HIV Alliance information, resources and updates in one place.

Our target audience for this specific app are volunteers of the HIV Alliance, current financial donors, others interested in further research of the HIV Alliance. The individuals who use the HIV Alliance and the local needle exchange for the purpose of disposing and receiving un-used needles will not be carrying an iPhone. Specific information, resources and updates includes HIV Alliance sponsored events, times and dates of the needle exchange, and contact information. Therefore, our target audience will be able to check exchange times and event locations, for example, on-the-go.

The design of the app will feature a syringe needle, vertically placed on the screen. “NEEDLE EXCHANGE” will be placed on the top third of the screen and “HIV ALLIANCE” will be placed on the bottom third of the screen, in a bold, black font. The milliliter lines on the syringe needle designate five different categories: Donate, Doctor, Recent News, Information, and Events. The individual can click on any of these categories for further information. For example, if the person clicks on “Doctor” then he/she will be directed to a screen that will feature a comment box to type in a question, which is automatically forwarded to the HIV Alliance. The doctor working at the HIV Alliance will personally reply to these questions within 24 hours. The Doctor page is a place where people curious about the HIV Alliance, HIV/AIDS epidemic or any additional health concerns surrounding needle injection can seek answers.

Another example is the “Events” section. A single page with the most updated information will appear. To keep it simple, just the Event title, date, location and a small representational image will appear. For more information, the HIV Alliance phone number and additional contact information will be located at the bottom of the page.

This app is meant to be simple, yet informational. The users will be using this app as a means to gather data, rather than for entertainment or work purposes. The design will reflect that simplicity to make things as efficient as possible for our audience.

In addition to simplicity, this app will also raise awareness to individuals looking to accumulate information on the HIV Alliance. The convenience of the app will allow more people to gather information, and it is our hope that this ease will promote more individuals to participate in volunteer opportunities, community events, and donor possibilities.

Our goal is to not only raise awareness of the HIV Alliance and the local needle exchange, but to also deepen individual’s understanding of the purpose and benefits of the organization to drug-users and the community as a whole. This app will be easy for our audience to use, and provide an informational and interactive way to enrich one’s understanding of the HIV Alliance.

New Approach to “War on Drugs”

President Barack Obama recently changed his approach to the current “war on drugs“. He lifted the bans on funding community needle exchange programs. Obama encourages communities to be supportive of these types of programs, because the intervention should begin at the community level. This support would allow people to be more receptive to receive help, information, etc. on a more comfortable level. By providing this comfort cushion, current drug-users are more likely to turn to a local program for assistance instead of seemingly ‘foreign’ programs that may be intimidating for users. By implementing these community educational programs and treatment centers, Obama hopes to decrease the number of current illegal drug users by roughly fifteen percent in the following five years.

These current changes by the President reinforces the claim that these programs, specifically community needle exchanges, are extremely beneficial to current users. Because of the beneficial services, including treatment, that the needle exchange programs offer, an increase in funding of these programs can diminish drug-use rates around the nation. If drug-users can feel comfortable enough to confide in their community needle exchange program, they will be more willing to reach out for help in the treatment/recovery process. These services will in turn target one of the program’s goals of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDs and Hepatitis C.

President Obama dubbed the “war on drugs” an “utter failure”, but has put his faith, and funds, into the community programs because he believes that they are more effective than the current steps that were taken to fight this so-called “war”. Obama’s new changes will hopefully encourage local communities to fund, or increase current funds for intervention and treatment programs.

Eugene implemented a local needle exchange called the HIV Alliance more than ten years ago, but the organization still struggles to receive adequate funding because people in the community believe this program only encourages current users to continue their habits. However, the director of the HIV Alliance program states that the program has allowed current users to come to a safe, trustworthy place to receive the assistance, information, and guidance needed to kick their drug abuse.

With the publicity of the newly implemented plans from President Obama, the local needle exchanges around the nation will continue to expand with the support of each individual community, as well as the federal government. This is a crucial opportunity for our nation to become aware, and understand the advantages of needle exchange programs in order to successfully fight the “war on drugs”.

Written by: Annie Feuer

Morally Wrong or Morally Correct?

By: Ariane Kunze

In recent years, with the HIV/AIDS count at an all time high, many new needle exchange programs have been established in order to lower the spread of disease. The intent of needle exchange programs, such as the HIV Alliance in Eugene, is not to promote drug use, but rather lower the risk of an injecting drug user (IDU) from contracting HIV or Hepatitis C.

They also provide many worthwhile services and drug treatment programs to IDUs who seek the assistance of a needle exchange. Despite the intent of needle exchange programs, two arguments arise among faith-based groups that present the issue of morality in the distribution of clean needles.

The morality of the needle exchange among faith-based organizations is often a contradictory subject matter. Faith-based organizations have consistently supported the prevention of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, but few have supported the actual act of distributing clean needles. This is perhaps because the act of distributing needles is seen by many as fueling the drug user’s habit, but in actuality, the rate of injection drug users has decreased since needle exchange programs have spread across the U.S. Drug use and the act of injecting drugs is, generally speaking, morally wrong and non-beneficial to communities according to most faiths, but helping the user in other non-pervasive ways is not. The Body, a HIV/AIDS online resource states that, “Opposition to syringe exchange has been rooted in the belief that supporting syringe exchange is an endorsement of drug use.”

On the other end of the spectrum, many needle exchange programs gain significant funding from faith-based organizations. Religious divisions such as the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, and The United Church of Christ support harm reduction, which is the main mission of needle exchange organizations. Since needle exchange programs cannot gain federal funding, they receive donations. Churches help fund needle exchange organizations perhaps because the needle exchange’s mission of harm reduction reaches out directly to the IDUs and provides free testing, treatment and rehab services, as well as other essential survival items, free of cost. The Body believes that, “The HIV work of religious groups has its roots in a holistic concern for preventive health care, respect for the dignity of those affected, and a fundamental belief that each person has an essential worth.” Many church groups even bless the unused syringes before their distribution and provide worship for any IDUs who wish to attend.

Although the debate still stands over whether giving IDUs clean needles is morally acceptable, most faith-based organizations stand strong in support of the helpful recovery and prevention services that needle exchange programs provide to the sick.

http://www.thebody.com/content/news/art56483.html#barriers

No Needles in Canada

This week, Needle Exchange advocates in Toronto Canada are outraged because federal prisons refuse to implement needle exchange programs in their facilities. HIV rates among inmates in Toronto’s federal prisons skyrocketed in the past year.

Canadian Needle Exchange advocacy groups want to implement needle exchange programs for prisoners, however Canadian government has a zero-tolerance policy for drugs in federal institutions. According to spokeswoman Christelle Chartrand, “providing needles for illicit drug use runs counter to that policy, and compromises the safety and security of correctional staff.”

According to a 2007 survey by Correctional Service Canada found that “an estimated 4.6% of prisoners reported having HIV-AIDS, more than double the 1.6% rate cited in an earlier report. The prevalence rate is 15 times higher than that found among the population as a whole, deeming the HIV infection rate comparable to many countries in the region of sub-Saharan Africa.” The survey also says that the estimated rate of Hepatitis C among federal prisoners was 31%, 39 times greater than that found in the community.

One of the scariest parts, according to Canadian HIV-AIDS Legal Network senior policy analyst Ka Hon Chu, is that prisoners are becoming so desperate for syringes to inject drugs that they begin stealing from medical services and fashioning makeshift needles. With no needle program in place, prisoners attempt to inject using pens or rubber tubing, and later share among 30-40 inmates.

As of now, the government is not considering the introduction of prison-based needle exchange programs, but advocacy groups are attempting to override this by proving the benefits and positive outcomes of needle exchange programs.

Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100421/hiv_prison_100421/20100421?hub=Health

written by Kelsey Wilkins

*Note: Not sure why the formatting of this post does not match the other posts*

Needle Exchange; Beyond the Needles

Eugene’s supply of hard drugs is drying up. This statement read under uneducated circumstances suggests that drug related problems around in the city are subsiding and as a result the community will become a healthier place to live. The problem with this theory however is that while the supply of hard drugs is diminishing the market demand for these drugs remains strong. What this means for the community is that users turn to harsher and ultimately more deadly alternatives to try to get their regular fix.

The reason why the supply of hard drugs in Eugene has been cut so drastically began with the bust of a Mexican drug ring in Lane County in 2007 by federal investigators. Since then the popular black tar heroin primarily sold on the streets disappeared. A new, substantially powerful type called gunpowder heroin, or GP, soon replaced it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gunpowder heroin is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, mainly because it is laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Users, who are accustomed to the older less powerful variety, are beginning to overdose on the new GP at an alarming rate. Improper dosages cut by drug dealers and users uneducated about the strength of the drug are thought to be the main causes of these overdoses. The state medical examiner’s office recently reported that the number of heroin-related deaths last year in Lane County increased to 21, a 75 percent increase over that number in 2008.

The HIV Alliance, which has multiple locations in Eugene where local users can exchange their dirty needles for clean ones, is working to thwart the epidemic that is on the rise in the drug community. “People who are overdoing aren’t aware of how potent it is,” said Jeff Nichols, who coordinates HIV Alliance’s needle exchange program. This is why the Alliance is handing out pamphlets to clients titled, “Get High, Don’t Die – How to use gunpowder heroin without overdoing”, along with the clean needle kits.

This proactive action by the HIV alliance shows that they are committed not only to providing users in the community with a safe way to manage their addiction but also educating clients about the constantly changing substances that they are consuming.
Source: Registerguard.com

Matt Phillips