Fentanyl deaths are down across the Bay Area. One county's harm reduction group says it's proof their strategy is working.

"At the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County's mobile syringe clinic, a single lamp shines a bright circle over folding tables stacked with boxes of soap, toothpaste, electrolytes, syringes, condoms and Narcan - a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses. HRCSCC's Blanca Carrillo is working with a few volunteers as clients line up a few feet away, waiting to request a paper bag of supplies."

"Across the Bay Area, coroners are reporting about half as many overdose deaths from the synthetic opioid fentanyl than during the peak of the crisis in 2023. In part, public health experts attribute this success to efforts by county public health departments and nonprofits to promote harm reduction strategies, which focus on reducing the risks of drug use without demanding abstinence."

A mobile syringe clinic distributes hygiene items, syringes, condoms, test strips, electrolytes and naloxone to people who use drugs. A peer outreach worker who formerly used drugs reports contracting and later clearing Hepatitis C from shared needles and says such services would have helped while living on the streets. Coroners report about half as many fentanyl overdose deaths across the Bay Area compared with the 2023 peak, a change partly credited to county and nonprofit harm reduction efforts. Distribution of naloxone and clean supplies reduces overdose deaths and transmission of HIV and hepatitis. Legal challenges and new legislation have complicated program operations, while harm reduction provides help without requiring immediate abstinence and aims to ultimately support recovery.

Read at The Mercury News