(Lots of great links in this)
Philadelphia bans supervised injection sites – evidence suggests keeping drug users on the street could do more harm than good.
this decision has focused on protecting neighborhoods where drug activity happens in parks and on the streets, ample evidence suggests that banning supervised injection sites may instead jeopardize the people and communities the policy was intended to protect.
Synøve Nygaard Andersen
Housing first!
Safe injection sites first!
We have so many studies illustrating the benefits of this approach. We *know* it's mere repulsion at the idea of "handouts to those who made bad choices" keeping us from building better communities.
I'm not sure if you're a podcast person, but this episode, on a helpline for people to call so they don't inject alone, was *such* a clear, humanizing example of how to help both in the now, and in the longterm.