SANTA CRUZ >> A local community-based organization has submitted documents to launch a program aimed at drug-related harm reduction in Santa Cruz County, and time is running out for the public to comment on the pending application.Almost a year after an appellate court judge revoked its previous permit, the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is seeking to operate a mobile outreach program that includes sterile syringe access and safe disposal services. Its application will soon be considered by the California Department of Public Health.

According to an application page on the state’s website, the coalition serves people who use drugs across Santa Cruz County, primarily those who are experiencing homelessness, in order to slow the spread of preventable blood-borne viruses and prevent overdoses.

In addition to needle exchange and education services, the program aims to enhance community health and safety through various behavioral health interventions and prevention tactics. These include the distribution of the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, wound care, hygiene supplies, prevention and risk education, safety training and referrals to community partners, according to a release from the coalition.

“The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County (HRCSCC) has exhibited a clear dedication to a comprehensive approach to harm reduction, which includes education, distribution of safer sex supplies, and referrals to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs that are critical in effectively addressing substance use disorders,” Santa Cruz County Health Officer Lisa Hernandez said in the coalition’s release. “We rely on our partners such as HRCSCC to provide harm reduction and MAT services to participants when and where we cannot.”

According to the coalition, its Medication Assisted Treatment Navigation Program, made possible by a three-year partnership with the county Health Services Agency, will operate alongside the mobile outreach program to provide referrals and ongoing case management services. It also wrote that the mobile program can assist in various communicable disease outbreak responses including shigella, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis.

After a lengthy appeals process in November, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge ordered the coalition to immediately cease all of its previously state-authorized syringe service operations across the county after determining the state failed to notify and consult with local law enforcement agencies before approving the permit.

Since that time, the coalition wrote in its release that the state has gone through a comprehensive consultation process with local law enforcement officials and has worked with the coalition to ensure its proposed program is in compliance with state standards.

Gabrielle Korte, an attorney with Brereton, Mohamed & Terrazas LLP, which represented the plaintiffs, told the Sentinel in an emailed statement that “we are hoping that the (California Department of Public Health) will actually comply with the law this time around, and take into account the valid public safety concerns of local law enforcement and the community at large.”

Korte and her team represented Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Renee Golder and several other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. In a written statement to the Sentinel, Golder said as a participant in numerous local cleanups, she has witnessed firsthand the environmental impacts discarded needles can have on the environment. She also gave a nod to the government-run programs already operating locally and across the state that address public safety risks while being subject to rigorous local oversight and environmental review.

“Despite these measures, our staff, volunteers, and other community members still encounter thousands of discarded syringes each year. These syringes pollute our watersheds, threaten our water resources, and endanger public health,” wrote Golder. “Allowing the State to approve expanded non-governmental syringe distribution programs without requiring environmental remediation, local input, or compliance monitoring will greatly increase the risks to our community and natural resources.”

The county Health Services Agency currently runs its own Syringe Services Program with a one-for-one exchange policy that operates Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Santa Cruz, and on Tuesdays and Fridays in Watsonville. According to the program’s website, it also has a mobile exchange with street medicine in Santa Cruz on Wednesdays and in Watsonville on Thursdays.

“We are faced with rising numbers of opioid addiction and its consequences — sexually transmitted infections, HIV and hepatitis. HRCSCC plays a critical role in addressing all of these issues. Their team members have worked tirelessly for many years to build trusting relationships with hundreds of people in our community who would otherwise have difficulty accessing services,” former county Health Officer Gail Newel remarked in the coalition’s release. “They have developed rapport with people who experience medical mistrust and trauma related to accessing care, bringing vital services to a population that would otherwise go unserved. … For all of these reasons, it is critical to the health and well-being of Santa Cruz County residents that their application moves forward.”

According to the state’s application page, the program proposes to operate from two mobile sites in addition to home delivery and pick up services upon request.

The mobile schedule would include 5-9:30 p.m. on Sundays at Coral Street in Santa Cruz between Limekiln and River streets. It will also pop up from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays along the Pajaro River Levee encampment, adjacent to East Front Street in Watsonville.

The on-call services would be available countywide from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and on demand for those being discharged from the jail or hospital.

The coalition’s application is open to public comment until 11:59 p.m. Nov. 4. Comments can be submitted online to the California Department of Public Health.