'I think it's a huge success': Group offers free condoms and clean needles

An Island program is seeing success in their efforts to help Aboriginal youth and community members avoid disease.

Hep'd Up On Life, sponsored by the Native Council of Prince Edward Island, helps raise awareness of HIV, Hepatitis C and other sexually transmissible and blood-borne infections among Aboriginal youth and other members of the community.

That's two people who came in to get a needle who needed a needle and didn't use somebody else's already used needles.- Dawne Knockwood

The program offers clean needles through the needle exchange program run by the government, and gives out free condoms.

Dawne Knockwood, the program coordinator, said since she has started with the groupin March, she has seen a steady increase in the amount of condoms people are taking.

"Our demand has actually been really high I'vebeen noticing that my baskets, I have plenty around our office and our portage office, and I have to replenish them constantly, so we have a huge uptake and that's amazing."

'Eliminates barriers'

Knockwoodconsiders this a big success.

"People are understanding that you need protection for anything, there's so many different things out there, that to have somewhere you can come get them for free, you don't have to pay for them, definitely eliminates barriers as well, so I think it's a huge success for our program."

The program has also started offering clean needles for about four years, and if they choose to dispose of their old ones, there is a safe sharps disposal.

"We want to make sure if people are going to do it, they are going to do it the safest way possible," said Knockwood.

Knockwood said Hep'd Up On Life is not set up to be a needle exchange, and they do not have a nurse on site.

They get the needles they distribute from the provincial needle exchange program.

Need for these services

Knockwood said that service was offered in case people in the community weren't comfortable going to the official exchange sites across the Island.

"I've only handed out two, but in saying that I think that's a huge success," Knockwood said.

"That's two people who came in to get a needle who needed a needle and didn't use somebody else's already used needles."

Knockwood said there is definitely a need for these types of programs on the Island for the Aboriginal community, and that it is a huge issue to tackle on the Island.

She said upcoming programs will get youth and elders in the community involved in the conversation.

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