Centerstone’s Recovery Engagement Center, 200 N. 13th St., hosts Wayne County's needle exchange program. Staff photo by Mike Emery
RICHMOND — Nearly 50 people across a wide range of age groups are active participants in Wayne County's syringe exchange program, according to a quarterly report submitted to the state.
The report, which covers October-December, offers a look at the demographic makeup of the people who have used the exchange as well as the amount of syringes that have been handed out and how many participants are engaged in substance abuse treatment.
The program's 49 active participants were just about evenly split between men (27) and women (22). Most of them were in their 30s (20 people), but there were plenty of 20-, 40- and 50-somethings (nine, nine and 10, respectively) as well as one person in their 60s.
Wayne County's exchange program began in August 2016 in an attempt to deal with elevated numbers of hepatitis C and HIV patients. The diseases can be spread through the sharing of needles used to inject illicit drugs, such as heroin or cocaine.
Initially, the program only operated for two hours one Thursday a month in the Centerstone facility at 200 N. 13th St. in Richmond. In July, it was expanded to every Thursday.
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