As the primary subject, I am personally grateful to Jeff Hawkes of the Intelligencer Journal New Era for the thoroughness of his article “Filling need for needles, Businessman looks for program sponsor.”
The task eleven years ago of organizing the syringe exchange was not one so much of convincing people about the worthiness of the endeavor. Rather, there was very little if any objections to what scientific research as confirmed by the U. S. government had established. What was necessary was the will, the vision, the experience, and some resources to carry out the initiatives. And the patience! Bringing about change is a very slow, often incremental business. Twenty years as a political activist has taught me that.
Later, through again working with a group of very talented and knowledgeable people, I was able to help bring about the deregulation of the sale of syringes.
Hawkes’ article would have had to have been twice as long to include all the individuals, both local and from outside the county, who played important roles. But there were two especially important matters, one conjecture on my part, the other factual, that were not included in Hawkes’ account. (The first perhaps through modesty; the second may simply not have been perceived as that important.)
In a letter to an advisory board member of April 28, 1998, I said “The quiet and behind the scenes workings of many hands – starting at least two years ago when one of the Steinman foundations…brought Mayor Schmoke of Baltimore to Franklin and Marshall to address physicians and the public concerning harm reduction – has apparently prepared the way for the launch of the Central Pennsylvania Syringe Exchange.”
Later, a New Era editorial fell prey to misinformation about the efficacy of syringe exchanges in Canada and, once edified, the Intelligencer Journal and New Era were generous in setting the record straight.
Rightly or wrongly, I always felt that benignly hovering over my efforts were the Steinman family and the Lancaster Newspapers. For this I am forever grateful and so should the public. Without the tacit support of the Steinmans for the syringe exchange undertaken, no public figure would have felt secure in allowing the exchange to move forward.
The second piece of information is about the local criminal defense attorney who voluntarily served “of counsel” and who handled the important and in some cases delicate contacts with city and county officials. He has since moved on to another job. It was Mayor Rick Gray!
Post script: Hawkes mentions that I had requested that the questions and answers be sent via the Internet to maximize accuracy. I spent three hours on a Sunday afternoon reading through and noting items from six inches of files relating to the start up of the syringe exchange programs. How little I had remembered and, in some cases, my marred recollections were a lesson on the fallacy of human recall. As a result of my research, I was able to provide Hawkes with a fuller accounting of the most helpful participants and far more accurate information.
