But they do not have families who can pay the bills. I can arrange for HIV testing for them, but for a number I cannot arrange for drug treatment. Welfare can cover the cost of drug treatment, but not the treatment entrance fee of several hundred dollars. If the person seeking help has a drug charge on his record, the new welfare rules can exclude them entirely. The present situation makes no sense.
Needle exchange is prevention and totally unavailable in New Jersey.
Getting people into drug treatment is prevention, and unavailable to many who are poor in New Jersey. People need help. My job is HIV prevention, but I am so limited by the resources available. I have turned my life around, and others want to do the same. Until they are ready to seek help and can get it, people who inject drugs need needle exchange.