After an impassioned presentation about the county’s needle exchange program, its fate remains uncertain.
Fayette County Health Officer Dr. Wayne White had notified the Fayette County Board of County Commissioners in June that he would not be renewing his declaration of an “opiate emergency.”
His declaration of a health emergency in 2016 set the stage for the county’s implementation of a needle exchange, formally called a syringe servicing program, and he had renewed it every two years since. It was one of eight such programs in Indiana in 2024, with
It is part of a Harm Reduction Program that is intended to help people begin recovery from substance abuse disorder. The syringe servicing program allows people to bring in used syringes and exchange them for clean ones, to keep them from getting blood-borne diseases including Hepatitis C and HIV.
Charmin Gabbard, the program’s director for six years, told the Board of Commissioners about the program’s results and said its work is not finished. Speaking in very personal terms, she thanked the county for hiring her – a convicted felon recovering from substance abuse disorder – and allowing her to work in the program. She has had her felony record expunged and become a statewide leader in the Harm Reduction Program.
The program is headquartered at Connection Cafe, 635 Central Ave. The staff provides counseling as well as services including meals and a clothes closet. Staff members have all been trained. One is on call to law enforcement and goes out to pick up needles discarded in public places.
“My people go out there every day. They love the people,” Gabbard said. She later said that if the syringe program is discontinued, people will die, because they will get dirty needles.
She also spoke of she and her staff working with people in the Fayette County Jail. When an inmate is released on probation, her staff takes them to meet with their probation officer and helps them find community resources. She believes that has helped reduce the population there by reducing the number of repeat offenders.
Sheriff Zac Jones said that while he does not favor the syringe exchange, he strongly hopes the program will continue its work in the jail.
Gabbard presented a statistical snapshot that showed opioid related deaths in Fayette County dropping from 19 in 2020 to four in 2024. The local program has been testing the syringes brought in to find out the substances being used. From May 2024 to May 2025, the program had 305 needles tested, finding fentanyl, methamphetamine, xylazine, cocaine and other substances.
From 2020-2025, the program had 810 participants with a total of 4,881 visits. Of the 333K syringes supplied, 384K were turned in, including some for injections such as insulin for diabetics.
Her report indicated that 16 people in Fayette County have HIV and 44 percent are “virally suppressed.” Of participants, 29 percent are living with HIV or Hepatitis C and did not have a care provider.
Representing the Fayette County Health Department, its manager, Matthew Sherck, said that Dr. White was not extending the health emergency and had not been provided with data that would change his decision.
Gabbard said she had not been asked for the data. Sherck said she had been invited to Health Board meetings, but had not attended.
Sherck encouraged the commissioners to meet with Dr. White and talk about why he made that decision.
The commissioners agreed that would be a good approach.
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