Blog note: this column references a grand jury report.
At the June 6 Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor John Leopold had the audacity to tell the community to “check the cynicism people have” regarding the county’s needle giveaway program (“Syringe Services Program” or “SSP”). He then bashed Take Back Santa Cruz’s all-volunteer Needles Solutions Team (“NST”), which for years has presented data and the community’s concerns about discarded needles to the board. Ironically, just three weeks after Leopold’s statements, the Grand Jury released its report blasting exactly this type of arrogant and dismissive attitude from county representatives: “A lack of transparency between the SSP and the public has created an atmosphere of distrust.”
The community is cynical because over 15,000 needles have been reported found on beaches, parks and streets in the past four-and-half-years. At least 12 people (including six children) have been stuck. Despite photographic evidence of needles being found with other SSP items (such as sterile water capsules), Supervisor Leopold insists he “doesn’t know” if the SSP is contributing to the needle epidemic. Although there is only one pharmacy in the city selling needles without a prescription, Supervisor Leopold continues to push the blame on “the pharmacies.” To add to this obfuscation, one of Leopold’s colleagues suggested “heroin-addicted tourists” are leaving needles on the beach.
The community is cynical of the SSP’s ever-changing stories about how it “counts” needles for its alleged “1:1 exchange.” When the NST attempted to get clarification, the County Health Services Agency (“HSA”) offered a “demonstration” meeting, only to cancel the meeting with less than 24-hour notice — because they felt the questions submitted on behalf of the public were “too political.” Supervisor Bruce McPherson had to order them to answer the public’s questions. Of course, the Q&A’s have since mysteriously disappeared from the HSA’s website.
The community is cynical because Supervisor Leopold deleted their comments — critical of the SSP — from his official “Supervisor John Leopold” Facebook page. This censorship is arguably a First Amendment violation.
The community is cynical because Supervisor Leopold will not acknowledge the concerns of the Emeline neighbors, who have been negatively impacted since the SSP moved into their neighborhood. The county hands out thousands of needles, yet sits back while city workers and police do all the clean-up.
The community is cynical because the HSA hid its 2015 SSP Biennial Report in budget materials without listing it on the Agenda, and without presenting it at an open Board meeting — totally circumventing the health and safety code requirement of “public notice and ample opportunity to comment on the program” every two years.
The community is cynical because the HSA fudges its numbers on returned dirty needles by taking the weight of debris in its collection kiosks and dividing it by the weight of a syringe to come up with a fictional number of drug needles “returned.”
The community is cynical because the SSP fails to get its clients into rehab.
Supervisor Leopold condescendingly stated that the NST needs “public health training.” However, the NST not only includes a public health researcher, but also a lawyer, a firefighter, a former drug user with over 25 years recovery, a public safety advocate and a mother whose child stepped on a needle. In contrast, the Grand Jury criticized the county for failing to have regular community members on its SSP Advisory Team.
The community is right to be “cynical” given the county’s dismissive attitude. The NST has never asked the county to shut down its needle program; we’ve only demanded accountability and transparency for its unintended consequences. Citizens are so fed up with not being heard that when a rogue artist recently hung several five-foot-long “needles” from the Water Street Bridge, there was widespread applause. Despite Leopold’s wish that the community simply “check the cynicism,” the Grand Jury report confirms that this cynicism stems directly from the county’s “poor communication and lack of transparency.”
September 16, 2017
Santa Cruz Sentinel
By Analicia Cube, On Behalf of Take Back Santa Cruz
No comments:
Post a Comment