Some are questioning the practices at the Summit County Health Department. Summit Safe, a program that was started last July. Through the program, syringes are given to opioid addicts.
"We are providing a service for the individual, and we are also being of service to our community," said Victoria Kaplan.
Kaplan runs Summit Safe. She said Hepatitis C has become a problem, as opioid users are sharing needles. She encourages users to share their contact information, and in exchange, she hands them a brown bag filled with a pack of syringes, cookers, and alcohol swabs.
"We recognize we can't stop somebody from using; that's actually not the goal of the program. When I participate by offering syringes to people who are using, I see it as incremental progress," said Kaplan. "I've had participants say they thought police were going to apprehend them in the parking lot."
Bill Hardy, a recovering addict doesn't agree with the practice.
"It's like they're promoting use," said Hardy.
Hardy said he suffers from hepatitis.
"I was buying needles off a man who said they were new, he was a diabetic. Come to find out, they were used by him. And he had hepatitis himself."
Kaplan said what's more shocking is the amount of people in Summit County who have hepatitis and have not been diagnosed.
