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Making Contact
"Making Contact" is produced by International Media Project, an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1994, committed to investigative journalism, in-depth critical analysis, the promotion of civic participation and the dissemination of educational material. Its core focus is National Radio Project, the team that creates Making Contact.
Needle exchange programs began springing up in the 1980 s during the AIDS crisis. Countless lives have been saved by providing IV drug users with clean needles. But even now, with hundreds of programs across the US and throughout the world, some states still view distributing needles as illegal.
This week, WABE reporter Jim Burress takes us to The Bluff , a neighborhood in Atlanta where a needle exchange program “breaking the law every day– has become a vital part of a struggling community.
Featuring:
Ruth Kanatser, Denver Harm Reduction Center syringe access director; Lisa Rayvell, Denver Harm Reduction Center director; Darlene, Beverly, Claude, Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition clients; Mona Bennett, Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition program manager; Verna Gaines, Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition Outreach Coordinator; Marshall Rancifer, Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition staffer, Rick Mason, Atlanta Police Lieutenant; Renee Unterman, Georgia State Senator
Host: Andrew Stelzer
Contributing Producers: Jim Burress, Maeve Conran
Producers: George Lavender, Andrew Stelzer
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Web Editor: Kwan Booth
Organizational Volunteers: Dan Turner and Barbara Barnett
