(NewsNation) — A Baltimore group is taking an unconventional approach to drug addiction that focuses on “harm reduction” through a partnership with mobile health clinics.
“People have always used drugs and will continue to always use drugs,” said Candy Kerr, communications manager for the Balitmore Harm Reduction Coalition. “Harm reduction is aiming to meet people where they’re at and trying to make sure that people are given the choice to use drugs in the best way possible.”
The so-called harm-reduction model offers potentially life-saving services to opioid users without requiring abstinence in return.
The model has received both endorsement and funding from the Biden administration.
Advocates of the approach say it prioritizes keeping people alive above all else, while they deal with the immense challenges of recovery. Critics say it enables illegal activity.
“(The program) doesn’t exclude abstinence. So, if people are looking to move towards an abstinence route, we can point them in that direction,” Kerr said, responding to the criticisms. “It is our duty to make sure that people don’t die from overdoses, don’t contract HIV or Hep C or have debilitating wounds.
Most patients in Baltimore’s Healthcare on the Spot program continue to use street drugs, but a majority of them report using less, according to clinic staff.
“We should be thinking about harm reduction on a spectrum. Some people want to stop using, others want to use safer. This is about truly meeting people where they are,” said Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, who served as the city’s health commissioner until recently being appointed deputy mayor. “It’s also about reducing the stigma. Because this is a disease, not a moral failing.”
