FEWER NEEDLES EXCHANGED SINCE FIXED SITE CLOSED

The number of clean needles being handed out has dropped dramatically
since Victoria's fixed-site needle exchange shut its doors at the end
of May.

Figures released by the Vancouver Island Health Authority last week
show the number of clean needles being handed out by all service
providers dropped from a monthly average of 45,400 in the first four
months of 2008 to 24,700 in June, the first month without a fixed
exchange site.

At the same time, the number of used needles being collected in the
city dropped by more than 60 per cent, from 36,900 to 13,400.

The numbers have partially rebounded since, with 36,500 handed out and
19,700 collected in August.

The fixed site, funded by the health authority and managed by AIDS
Vancouver Island since 1989, was shut down after being evicted from
its former location on Cormorant Street and blocked from moving into a
new building at 941 Pandora Ave. by a wave of public protest.

Since then, AVI's exchange service has operated on a mobile basis,
with staff providing and collecting needles, sterile water and condoms
from a van and foot patrols in the Rock Bay area and the northern edge
of downtown.

"Although the mobile service is meeting some of the needs of clients
for needle distribution, we believe that a permanent space for needle
exchange complemented with a mobile service is the best way to deliver
this form of health care to help stop the spread of HIV and Hepatitis
c," AVI executive director Katrina Jensen said in a statement.