A new proposal for a needle exchange program in Santa Ana

The Harm Reduction Institute, a nonprofit based in Santa Ana, has applied to the California Department of Public Health to add home delivery and pick-up of syringes to its current program.Santa Ana officials say they want no such services to operate in the city.But Santa Ana leaders are remembering the Orange County Needle Exchange Program that operated in the city between 2016 and 2018, before shutting down after city officials denied it a permit in 2018, saying the program had resulted in needles littering the area in and around the Civic Center.” If approved, the program wouldn’t offer syringe services from its office location, instead providing home delivery and pick-up services on Mondays and Wednesdays within Santa Ana, Neward said.
” “That was really the solution that we could come up with that best fit the concerns of the community and also the public health need that exists in Santa Ana for a needle exchange program,” she said.Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua said changes to how to syringes are distributed won’t stop needle litter from happening.