Baltimore public testimony splits on harm reduction: advocates call for overdose-prevention centers and low-barrier housing; some neighbors oppose mobile needle

Public testimony at a Baltimore City Council hearing on the opioid crisis featured sharply divergent perspectives on harm reduction: service providers and advocates urged expansion of syringe service programs, overdose-prevention centers and low-barrier supportive housing, while some neighborhood residents said mobile clinics and syringe distribution have increased needle litter and neighborhood harm.

"Sterile syringes reduce the transference of HIV and hepatitis C," Darcy Kerwin Garber said. Garber, policy manager at the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, told the committee state law that classifies syringes as controlled paraphernalia discourages people from using syringe programs because of fear of policing and confiscation.

Several advocates called for overdose-prevention centers (also called supervised consumption sites) and more low-barrier drop-in centers offering case management, showers and…