June 20, 2008
USE YOUR DISCRETION
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Rivera (far left) fires up the crowd as Palma (far right) looks on. |
"We're committed to this issue…we're not going to give up the fight!"
Those were welcome words from Bronx City Council Member Annabel Palma to dozens of AIDS and harm reduction advocates that gathered on the steps of City Hall on Monday afternoon. Members and supporters of the Injection Drug Users Health Alliance rallied for half an hour to remind City Council Members of the lifesaving HIV prevention and harm reduction services that they provide and thank the Council for its past support.
IDUHA is a $3.3 million discretionary initiative, and the recent scandal over Council Member items has thrown discretionary funding into uncertainty. There is no guarantee that discretionary programs will get renewed and none are expected to see enhancements.
Programs funded by IDUHA provide vital services to New Yorkers, including syringe exchange, HIV and HCV prevention education for communities of color and drug users, and education about methadone-alternative buprenorphine and overdose prevention. B etween September 2007 and April 2008, IDUHA members distributed 94,441 sterile syringes; educated 5,494 New Yorkers about Hepatitis C and 9,652 about the opioid treatment buprenorphine, and trained 8,057 individuals on reversing drug overdoses.
Koppell keeps on
Palma's Bronx colleague, Council Member Oliver Koppell, also spoke at Monday's rally. "Ending addiction is a process. While that process is going on, we want to prevent people from getting AIDS," Koppell said to applause. He added, "We need to do more to promote buprenorphine, and we've been pushing the [mayor's] administration on that."
Koppell and several other speakers thanked the Council for its past support of HIV-prevention among drug users. Rally organizers say that since 1993, the number of new AIDS diagnoses among injection drug users has dropped 90 percent, partly due to the availability of syringe exchanges.
"The essential services supported by the City have improved the quality of my life and provided a critical lifeline for me as a drug user who has been living with HIV and Hepatitis C since 1986," said Louie Jones, Voices of Community Advocates and Leaders (VOCAL) Coordinator. "Restoring funding is a crucial step toward creating a healthier New York and ensuring no one is denied care and services that will keep them and their families safe."
Looking good
Despite the uncertain funding climate, rally organizers are optimistic that, with the support of Palma and Koppell, IDUHA's funding will be renewed. "We have a history of doing a good job, and we've been in the budget before. We're a solid group and our funding shouldn't be up for questions," Jeremy Saunders of the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN) and VOCAL, said.
Joyce Rivera, the pioneering executive director of St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction (SACHR) added, "We're cautiously optimistic that we will retain funding at current levels, minimum. I understand from several sources that our funding line isn't threatened because the Health Committee is happy with our initiative and its results. And Palma and Koppell are championing our results and the ask." Rivera is one of the longest continuously serving heads of a harm reduction organization in the country.
IDUHA has 18 coalition members. Also in attendance on Monday were CitiWide Harm Reduction, Lower East Side Harm Reduction, Housing Works, Syringe Exchange Project, Positive Health Project, Street Works, Community Health Action of Staten Island, Harm Reduction Coalition, NYCAHN, New York Harm Reduction Educators, After Hours and other groups.