What to know about Philly’s needle exchanges

Injection drug use can lead to life-altering outcomes, especially when done unsafely.

That’s why in Philly, public health officials employ policies that decrease the risk of spreading diseases among people who use injection drugs. Since 2016, cases of HIV among that population have increased by 150%, according to the city’s health department. In large part due to the widespread use of fentanyl — which has overtaken the supply of opioids and heroin sold on the street in the city — people need to inject drugs more often to prevent withdrawal systems because of fentanyl’s more potent, yet shorter-lived effects compared to heroin or other opioids.

Simply put, the more people need to inject drugs, the more chances there are to spread diseases when reusing or sharing old needles. To address this, the city and local organizations operate needle exchange programs to distribute fresh, sterile needles to people who engage in injection drug use.

The Inquirer spoke with harm reduction experts, from the largest prevention service organization in the city to more grassroots organizations that run on volunteers, to better understand how these public health policies work in Philadelphia. In this guide, you’ll learn more about what needle exchanges are, plus how to help and access these public health measures for free.

A needle exchange, or syringe services program (SSP), is a program for people who use injection drugs to either turn in their used syringes to receive new, sterile ones or simply receive a fresh pack of needles, no exchange necessary.

What is the purpose of needle exchanges? According to Sarah Laurel, founder and executive director of Savage Sisters Recovery which operates recovery housing across Philly and distributes clean syringes in Kensington, when people share needles or reuse ones that aren’t sterile, they open themselves up to diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and infections that can lead to amputation. These diseases can proliferate, like in 2019 when an outbreak of Hepatitis A led to 426 outbreak-related cases in Philly.

“We want you to live, and when you should decide that you don’t want to do substances anymore, finding out that you have a blood-borne disease can be really complicated — from getting access to treatment which can be very expensive, to additional health consequences to your organs,” said Laurel.

Philly’s largest needle exchange program has been operated by Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) for the last 30 years in Kensington, where people can exchange their needles for new ones on specific weekdays, and receive emergency packs that include a limited number of syringes and other safer-use supplies other days. According to Nicole Sage, PPP’s director of prevention services and needle exchange program, the syringe distribution serves upwards of 750 people on a busy day and saw more than 36,000 in the last fiscal year, which they are on track to triple in 2023.

At a baseline, needle exchanges prevent the spread of infectious diseases, but they go a step further by being a point of contact for people in the throws of addiction — in some cases being a lifeline to treatment, said Sage.

“A person might not automatically want to see a case manager [for treatment], but they might be able to build rapport with somebody in the needle exchange,” said Sage. ”After building a connection, that person might say, ‘I also need help with getting an ID,’ and then what my team would do is introduce them to a case manager.”

Savage Sisters Recovery also operates syringe services programs in Philly, and like Prevention Point, they provide health screenings, education for safer injection practices, wound care, contraceptives and referrals to substance use treatment, recovery housing and health care.

Here’s where you can find free syringe services in Philly.

At Prevention Point’s main building, located at 2913 Kensington Ave., people can access needle exchange and distribution services on top of food, clothing, hygiene products, wound care and referrals to social services.

At the intersection of Kensington and Allegheny avenues in Kensington, Savage Sisters hosts outreach events every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and every third Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Here people can receive clean needles, food, clothing, medical care and referrals to social services. They also have a storefront at 3115 Kensington Ave., open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where people can receive help.

These mobile sites provide people with clean needles to use safely and often will provide food and clothing distribution, hygiene products, contraceptives and more.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Saturday

Prevention Point and Savage Sisters both have volunteer opportunities available. If needles aren’t your thing, you can help with community cleanups, and clothing and food distribution too. Other organizations, like Angels in Motion no longer offer needle exchanges, but still provide services to populations of people who use injection drugs.

These groups will also take donations of food, hygiene products, clothing and more.