Eagle County commissioners approved a funding initiative Tuesday to reduce overdose deaths on the Western Slope.
The $560,165 in funding will go to High Rockies Harm Reduction, a Carbondale-based nonprofit that serves drug users from Aspen to Parachute.
That money will help the organization purchase two new all-wheel-drive cargo vans built out as mobile offices, allowing them to travel across the region and increase accessibility.
High Rockies Harm Reduction offers free services for drug users, including syringe disposal, Narcan kits, and counseling. In previous years, they’ve operated out of churches, community centers and medical buildings, but a 2021 needs assessment found that many drug users are not comfortable seeking services at government or medical buildings.
“There's a lot of distrust in our current systems, whatever those might be,” said Maggie Seldeen, the founder and director of High Rockies Harm Reduction.
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds drug users who have access to harm reduction services are more likely to enter treatment and get sober than those who don’t.
For women, accessing those services is even more crucial since they face more risks from drug use, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“There are fewer role models for women in injection-drug-using communities,” said Seldeen. As a result, women are more likely to contract diseases and suffer injection-related injuries that can lead to sepsis and other complications. She added that female drug users are also more likely to end up victims of human trafficking.
Mothers are also less likely to seek help for substance abuse issues because they worry they could lose custody of their children. For undocumented mothers, those threats are compounded.
The result is a two-pronged risk, said Seldeen: “Women have less means to use (drugs) in a safe way, and then they're less likely to get the support that they need for fear of legal repercussions.”
