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Needle Exchange Continues At Fourth Street Clinic

Tim Slover / KUER

Salt Lake’s needle exchange program has a new home, at least temporarily. 

The biweekly pop-up tent was pushed out of its normal meeting spot near The Road Home when the crime and drugs crackdown called Operation Rio Grande began in August.

The Utah Harm Reduction Coalition hands out these clean syringes for people who are addicted to heroin so they don’t spread disease. And they help get dirty needles off the streets.

Beginning today, the white tent will go up at 4th Street clinic. The organization hopes to, eventually find a permanent location.  

Needle exchange programs are controversial in Utah. Some politicians and law enforcement think they enable people to continue abusing drugs. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say needle exchanges curb HIV infections significantly.  

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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