Tippecanoe County commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to renew a syringe exchange service for two more years.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — Tippecanoe County commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to renew a syringe exchange service for two more years.
Commissioner Tom Murtaugh again cast the lone vote against the program, which was created in 2017 and renewed twice previously.
Gateway to Hope provides clean syringes, hygiene supplies and support for people struggling with addiction. Since 2020, the service has been based at LTHC Homeless Services on the north end of Lafayette.
Grace Paton, Gateway to Hope's harm reduction program manager, says 299 new users from 2020-2022 are more any other two-year span in Tippecanoe County.
She blames pandemic isolation and points to growing trust in the program.
"COVID had a little bit to do with it. ... We stayed open and available for people," Paton says. "People come to us and they can share with other people and their friends that this is a safe place to be."
But some people are skeptical.
"What I can't wrap my head around is the fact that we also, with this particular program, we could be enabling folks," Murtaugh says. "That's a huge, fundamental issue for me I just can't get past."
Health department officials say 147 of the program's 831 clients sought treatment from 2020-2022.
"What we don't know, and I talked a little about this, is the fact that ... these participants might be the ones who are the unfortunate ones that aren't making it," Murtaugh says.
Paton says she can find out.
"There is a way, because I'm confident that the people who are using our program are people who are staying alive and thriving and making those positive changes," she says.
The service is outgrowing its two-office space at LTHC. Paton's now in search of a standalone location for the next two years.
"We're a peer-based program that is making sure people feel safe and welcome, and we want to mimic that with what our space looks like. ... We want it to look a little bit different," she says.
The program also provides naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Paton says the deadly opioid is found in nearly every drug on the black market.
For more information about how to get involved with Gateway to Hope, click HERE.
