Nonprofit takes over Bridgeport needle exchange program

Bridgeport Health Department's needle exchange van at the corner of East Main and Jane Streets in Bridgeport on Tuesday, December 16, 2014.Photo: Brian A. Pounds For years, heroin addicts like Jose Valentin relied on Bridgeport's needle exchange program to provide clean syringes and other supplies in exchange for their used equipment. The initiative -- paid for by the state and run out of a van that traveled throughout the city -- helped stop the spread of blood-borne diseases among drug users and kept an estimated 25,000 dirty needles off the streets each year.



via Bridgeport Newswire http://ift.tt/1F8dInL