April 26, 2005
THE CLEAN TEAM
15th annual needle-exchange conference convenes 250
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SELLING POINTS: Clear, Johnson, Rucker and Sessoms pitch C2EA to other NASEC-goers. |
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"The first rule of organizing is 'Get your gang together,'" says David Purchase, the head of the North American Syringe Exchange Network (
www.nasen.org), which advocates for needle-exchange programs (NEPs) to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis. And that's just what some 250 other NEP workers and advocates did over the weekend in Tacoma, Washington, at NASEN's 15th annual North American Syringe Exchange Conference.
One major topic of conversation: the fear among many needle-exchange workers that any highly visible advocacy to lift the federal funding ban on syringe exchange would jeopardize local funding of NEPs, which have earned the support of leaders in many cities in the past few years. Nonetheless, participants talked about creating a long-term advocacy strategy to garner support for NEP funding among elected officials and candidates for the 2008 presidential race. Though Purchase, exhausted from the conference, declined on Sunday to report the details of the discussion, he conceded that "there isn't anybody who wants the ban to stay in place."
A conference highlight was a breakout session on the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA), which kicks off May 5 in D.C. (see story in this issue). Headed up by C2EA members Robert Cordero of Housing Works; Joy Rucker of Casa Segura in Oakland, CA; Charles Sessoms of PreventionWorks! In Washington, D.C.; and Allan Clear and Fred Johnson of New York City's Harm Reduction Coalition, the session explored support for needle-exchange funding in C2EA's platform and brought some new folks into the Campaign. It also provoked a lively debate among NASEN members on whether to join C2EA. The final consensus? It was simply too important for drug users and their advocates to be part of C2EA's crucial agenda for NASEN not to participate. Amen to that!
Anyone interested in attending next year's NASEN conference can e-mail nasen@seanet.com for more information. As for this year's summit, says Purchase, "It was great for us all to get together, share what we've learned and spend some time where we don't have to apologize for what we do."
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