I want to commend the people who came to the Board of Supervisor Tuesday, who shared their personal stories and medical and spiritual testimony, in support of the need for a legal syringe-exchange program. THAT was powerful medicine.

Much to the surprise – and welcome – of the Board of Supervisors for getting it right, that the time is now for this program to go forth.

If one child is saved the lifetime cost of becoming infected with HIV and/or HEP C, picking up and getting infected by a dirty needle in a park playground; then, it is all worth it.

The stats for AIDS and HEP C, presented by the Department of Public Health, were scary in their sparseness. As folks who work in the public service sector know, it is safe to hazard a guess that the existing stats for both infections are probably at least 200- to 300-percent higher than the stats collected for citizens who are in the system, i.e., 63 documented AIDS and nearly 200 HEP C.

This is merely the tip of the iceberg and we need prevention programs such as the syringe-exchange if, at least, to practice harm-reduction and have access to the IV drug population that proliferates in the County of Lake as well as those devastating other rural counties in Northern California.

Hats off to the Board of Supervisors and the health services and spiritual community for being both progressive and pro-active. I feel hope.

Ken Young is program coordinator for the Community Care HIV/AIDS Project. He lives in Clearlake Oaks.

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