Van collects needles, delivers lifeline to Uptown drug users

Every Sunday Terrence Johnson walks down an inconspicuous Uptown street looking for the boxy silver Chicago Recovery Alliance van that operates a needle exchange program. He lives in a shelter just up the street with his wife and daughter who accompany him on his search. He needs half-cc needles on a weekly basis, but not for any addiction. He is an unemployed and homeless diabetic who can't afford needles from a hospital or local pharmacy.

Last Sunday, Terrence and his family not only got his needles from the van, they also got free hepatitis vaccinations.

"They help me with everything I need. It was hard for me to get my needles and everything. I can't afford them at the hospitals and they're very important," he said.

Johnson's needs aren't the same as most of the people who visit the van, but the services he received are offered to anyone who wants them.

According to Dan Bigg, a founder of the Recovery Alliance, there are an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 injection drug users in Chicago. Nearly 1,000 people a year die as a result of accidental drug overdoses and countless more are sent to the emergency room.

The Recovery Alliance has taken a proactive and atypical approach to addressing Chicago's prevalent drug problem since being established in 1991.

"By thinking ahead of time and accepting the tendency of the species to intoxicate, we have been able to create a solution that has a feedback system, which will prevent the problem from overwhelming us." Bigg said. "We offer effective and early intervention for people who actually have a problem. Help needs to be there in a way that is acceptable and attractive. We have some terrific treatments available that are incredibly underused."

In addition to running the needle program, a person can walk onto the van and receive free rapid HIV screening and counseling, educational materials, clean burners, free condoms, hepatitis vaccinations and naloxone, an antidote capable of reversing the effects of an opiate overdose.

Since the Recovery Alliance began distributing naloxone in 2001, it has documented more than 800 overdose reversals. When distributing naloxone to someone for the first time, the alliance educates the person on how to use it properly in order to avoid sending person who has overdosed into immediate withdrawal.

Naloxone is non-addictive and you cannot overdose on it.

"It's as harmless as water but it can save someone's life," said Sharon Sereda, an employee of the recovery alliance.

In addition to distributing naloxone, the alliance provides unused needles and burners in hopes of reducing the health risks, associated with injection drug use. The two most prevalent health issues among injection drug users are HIV and hepatitis.

Providing clean burners prevents people from cooking heroin on spoons, which if shared, can be breeding grounds for hepatitis.

"With a little bit of preparation and education, people [using injection drugs] can protect their lives " said Sereda.

When the Recovery Alliance began distributing needles in 1992, the rate of HIV among injection drug users in Chicago was around 24 percent, Bigg said. The rate of HIV has dropped and remained at 11 percent in recent years, though part of that drop may be attributable to the growing popularity of Crystal Meth, which is sniffed.

Hepatitis C remains a constant problem, though. According to Grannan, current estimates put the rate between 60 percent and 70 percent among injection drug users. The Recovery Alliance hopes that providing new needles, new burners, alcohol pads, and vaccinations will help curb the rate of Hepatitis A and B. (There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C.) The alliance has given more than 30,000 hepatitis vaccinations, Bigg said.

The services provided by the Recovery Alliance are completely anonymous in hopes of encouraging anyone who is looking for help to seek it.

"We have businessmen and homeless people come to us. You can't always tell what people do in their spare time," Sereda said.

The alliance van operates in different locations throughout Chicago seven days a week and in the western suburbs on weekday evenings.

"People are constantly told they can't take care of themselves. But when resources and education are available, people will do amazing things to keep themselves healthy and the people around them healthy," said Sereda.