Take Back Santa Cruz

Advocating for a Safe and Clean Santa Cruz

  • About
  • Get Involved
  • Blog
    • Latest Articles
    • In the Press
  • Resources
    • Storm Resources
    • Bike Theft/Registration
    • Cal Trans
    • City of Santa Cruz
    • County of Santa Cruz
    • Needles in Public Spaces
  • Events
  • SHOP
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Needles in Public Places / FAQ received in regards to the County Syringe Services Program (SSP)

FAQ received in regards to the County Syringe Services Program (SSP)

May 15, 2016 by TBSC Leave a Comment

Does the Community Have A Say On the Syringe Services Program (“SSP”)?

“Can’t the public vote on it?”

No. Whether or not Santa Cruz County hosts a needle exchange is a public health decision made at the discretion of the County Board of Supervisors and Health Officer (Health & Safety Code Section 121349(b)).

“Is there a state agency that oversees the needle exchange?”

Needle Exchanges can also be authorized by the California State Department of Health (Health & Safety Code Section 121349(b)). However, because the SSP was authorized by the County, and not the California State Department of Health, the Department has declined to address community concerns over the Santa Cruz County program. Thus, oversight of our local needle program is at the County level.

“Since the SSP moved in to my neighborhood, we have been experiencing an uptick in suspicious activity and have been finding more needles. Is there anything that can be done?

Health and Safety Code Section 121349.2(a) places a duty on the County to address and mitigate the SSP’s adverse impacts on the community. If you have concerns that the SSP is having a negative impact on your neighborhood or the community at large, speak up. Send an email to the County Board of Supervisors and County Health Officer.

“Does the public get to comment on the Syringe Services Program”?

Section 121349.2(a) requires that the County give ample notice and an opportunity to comment on the SSP every two years. Section 121349.3(a) further requires that the Health Officer present a biennial report at an opening meeting of the Board of Supervisors on the status of the syringe exchange program and affording an opportunity for the public to comment on the program. “Ample notice” must be given to the public before the meeting allowing comment.

It has now been well over two years since the last report, and over two years since the last Board of Supervisors meeting with public comment.

  • See more here at our blog
  • What to do if you find needles and how to report to TBSC (link to our Resource page)
  • Needles in the Community – What are the Risks? 3/12/2016 (article was written by a Public Health Researcher at the request of the Needles Solutions Team.)

 

Share Button

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on LinkedIn Share
Share on Digg Share

Filed Under: Needles in Public Places

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<h3>Comments Rules of The Road</h3><h2>Please follow these rules when commenting on our site or Facebook page:</h2> <h3><strong>Be relevant</strong></h3> <p>Discuss the story and stay on topic.</p> <h3><strong>Be respectful</strong></h3> <p>Keep things civil. Avoid abusive or offensive language, threats, hate speech, libels and calls for violence. And please, don’t make jokes about the misfortune of others. Imagine it was your loved one in the story and show some restraint.</p> <h3><strong>Be honest</strong></h3> <p>Use your real name. Don’t post commercial messages. Don’t publish copyrighted material that belongs to someone else.</p> <h3><strong>Be discreet</strong></h3> <p>Don’t publish telephone numbers, addresses or other personal information about yourself or others.</p> <h3><strong>Be responsible</strong></h3> <p> </p> <h2>Commenting terms of use</h2> <p>Commenting is a privilege that will be revoked for violations of our terms of use. Inappropriate comments may be deleted. Users who violate the rules will be banned from commenting, perhaps with their previous comments deleted.</p> <p>Users are solely responsible for what they post and can be held responsible for violations of the law. Take Back Santa Cruz cannot verify the content of comments and does not vouch for their accuracy.</p> <div style="padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;" class="hupso-share-buttons"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http://www.hupso.com/share/ --><a class="hupso_toolbar" href="http://www.hupso.com/share/"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/static.hupso.com/share/buttons/share-medium.png?ssl=1" style="border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;" alt="Share Button" data-recalc-dims="1"/></a><script type="text/javascript">var hupso_services_t=new Array("Twitter","Facebook","Google Plus","Tumblr","StumbleUpon","Digg","Reddit","Email","Print");var hupso_background_t="#EAF4FF";var hupso_border_t="#66CCFF";var hupso_toolbar_size_t="medium";var hupso_image_folder_url = "";var hupso_url_t="";var hupso_title_t="FAQ received in regards to the County Syringe Services Program (SSP)";</script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.hupso.com/share/js/share_toolbar.js"></script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-2731" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-2731" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-end"></li></ul></div></div></div> <div id='jp-relatedposts' class='jp-relatedposts' > <h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3> </div><div class='apss-social-share apss-theme-1 clearfix ' > <div class='apss-facebook apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Facebook" target='_blank' href='https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-facebook-f'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Facebook</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-twitter apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=FAQ%20received%20in%20regards%20to%20the%20County%20Syringe%20Services%20Program%20%28SSP%29&url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/&" title="Share on Twitter" target='_blank'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-twitter'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Twitter</span><span class='apss-share'>Tweet</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-pinterest apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Pinterest" href='javascript:pinIt();'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-pinterest'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Pinterest</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-linkedin apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on LinkedIn" target='_blank' href='http://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'><i class='fab fa-linkedin'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on LinkedIn</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-digg apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Digg" target='_blank' href='http://digg.com/submit?phase=2%20&url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/faq-received-regards-county-syringe-services-program-ssp/&title=FAQ%20received%20in%20regards%20to%20the%20County%20Syringe%20Services%20Program%20%28SSP%29'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-digg'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Digg</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> </div>

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Stay Connected

EZ Fat Footer #3

This is Dynamik Widget Area. You can add content to this area by going to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress Dashboard and adding new widgets to this area.

© 2015 Take Back Santa Cruz · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap | Site designed by Foxxr

Go to mobile version