Minister Offering Clean Needles in Ecorse

The Rev. Richard Harris and Latino Family Services are offering clean needles to drug users in the Ecorse, Mich., area in hopes of fighting the spread of HIV. Harris, who is also president of a program that provides tutoring and other programs for children, said certified workers would give drug users clean needles in exchange for used syringes. The program also could help residents with medical conditions who use needles for their medication.

Latino Family Services will donate a van to enable workers to travel into areas where known drug users live. They will rely on needle donations from area doctors and pharmacists and will provide bleach kits to sanitize equipment. This agency has been offering syringe exchanges in Detroit since 1988. Harris started his Resurrection of a Child's Mind organization in 1995 to provide services for children in Wayne County's Ecorse. He bought a house from the city for $1 and began the nonprofit center where youngsters come to study and do homework. Harris financed the effort himself until 1999, when he received the group's first grant. Since then, a variety of organizations have provided funds and supplies, including computers, computer software and meals. Now, Harris hopes to lease another building to house the needle exchange program. "What we have now is an epidemic -- HIV," Harris told the Detroit News. "It's spreading so fast. People want to sweep it under the carpet, but you can't."

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