Florida’s first syringe exchange program turns seven years on Dec. 1, and Emilie Ashbes proves how effective it is in helping people avoid infections like HIV and hepatitis C disease and success in overcoming drug addiction.
Ashbeth, 34, overcame drug addiction and is now helping others in Miami overcome addiction too through a program set up at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
The program is named after the Infectious Disease Elimination Act (IDEA), Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law in 2019.
Florida is up and running with six IDEA programs that allow injecting drug users to swap dirty syringes for sterile syringes, thereby preventing fatal infections among injecting drug users.
“Being alive is a big thing, and even just knowing that people care is a big part of it – it helps people want to live another day or two,” said Ashbeth, who helps clients through her community engagement role.
She said the program combined medication and support to enable her to recover and pursue a career caring for others.
“I think the goal of the IDEA exchange is to give people a sense of where they are because the dead don’t recover, which I really love,” she said. “So you have to meet people where they are. “Everyone is different. “
IDEA’s work is particularly important in Miami-Dade County, which has some of the highest HIV infection rates in the country, in part because of dirty syringes. They work in locations throughout the county, including Overtown, Liberty City and Homestead.
Critics worry that syringe exchange programs increase drug use and crime in local communities and do little to reduce illegal drug use.
However, researchers have found that such programs can be effective in curbing drug use and preventing the spread of infections such as HIV and hepatitis C, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
“There are huge risks associated with using a needle after someone else has used it, and we actually provide low-barrier, high-quality care so that we can treat HIV, cure hepatitis and prevent HIV infection. We can do it here All of that,” Dr. Hansel Tookes, who created the program and leads staff at the University of Michigan, told WLRN.
On December 1, 2016, he launched the first syringe exchange program. That day was also World AIDS Day.
Tookes said in his latest annual report that more than 2,200 people had participated in the program as of June 30, and he hopes to reach more people, especially women and communities of color.
Hispanics make up 37% of IDEA’s enrollees, while black enrollees account for nearly 11%. According to Tookes’ latest annual report, more than 70% of participants are male, and women make up nearly 30% of participants. Whites account for almost 49%.
About 10 percent of IDEA participants have HIV, and more than 40 percent have hepatitis C, he said.
At IDEA Miami, people can get PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), which is very effective in preventing HIV when taken as prescribed.
To meet the needs of women and increase utilization of these services, IDEA Miami now offers women’s clinics every Friday.
“Our ability to offer products like Depo-Provera (a birth control drug) attracts more women. A lot of women come in on Fridays during the day because we are able to offer low-barrier medications to treat addiction,” Tookes said.
They offer mental health and family planning services, and people can get care from female doctors who work at the University of Michigan.
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IDEA Miami also employs employees called “peers” who are able to overcome addiction and provide essential services to people.
People like Ashby.
She started working in community engagement at IDEA Miami two months ago. Her job includes scheduling telemedicine appointments for people who come to IDEA and see a University of Michigan doctor via computer, for example. She provided them with vital supplies—including naloxone, the brand name for naloxone, a rapid reversal drug that comes in the form of a nasal spray, and suboxone, a drug that treats opioid addiction. Opioid overdose medications.
“I’m excited to see (IDEA Miami) grow,” said Ashbeth, who stopped using drugs in 2019 and credits IDEA Miami and its doctors for her recovery.
Like Ashbees, Mary Ann Flynn overcame a drug problem and now works as a staff member for IDEA Miami, providing supplies to people who inject drugs as part of mobile outreach.
“I’ve been there, done that,” she said. “It helps them trust me. Everything they can do I’ve probably done twice.”
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Flynn, who has been working at IDEA Miami for about a year and a half, said she has learned that syringe exchange programs do not encourage drug use or lead to addiction as she previously believed. She said 12-step programs or drug rehab programs aren’t for everyone, so she wants to help people get care even if they’re still injecting drugs. Flynn said she is passionate about disease intervention and prevention.
“If we can provide a drug to a pregnant woman and the baby is born HIV-free, mission accomplished,” she said. “That’s exactly what’s happening.”
In addition to medical services, IDEA Miami helps people avoid the criminal justice system. In Florida, anyone arrested for possession of a syringe can avoid criminal charges for possession of a syringe if they join IDEA.
Tookes told WLRN that Flynn and Ashbes provided first-hand evidence of the program’s success.
“I hope one day IDEA is run entirely by people who have used our programs,” he said.
Dr. Tookes told WLRN they are also coaching other counties to start their own exchange programs across the state.
“I’m very proud of everything we’ve accomplished here, but like Emily (Ashbeth) said, this is just the beginning,” Tookes said.