The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is set to convene a community meeting to hear from residents regarding the County’s harm reduction syringe services programs tomorrow morning. This will be a hybrid meeting, including in-person attendance and virtual attendance through Zoom.
It’s set to take place on Friday, March 29, between 9am and 11am at the Zev Yaroslavsky Family Support Center on the first floor in the Joshua and Sequoia Conference Rooms, 7555 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91405.
According to an email sent out by Downtown Santa Monica Inc. (DTSM), seating will be limited for in-person attendance and will be based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Virtual attendees can register to watch the meeting at this link.
Residents attending the meeting will be provided an opportunity to provide comments in person during the public comment portion of the agenda.
For residents who cannot attend the meeting in person or would like to provide comments ahead of time, remarks related to Los Angeles County “harm reduction” syringe services programs can be submitted via this webform.
This controversial issue was raised in the last City Council meeting on March 19. In a predictable 4-3 split along party lines, councilmembers voted to prepare and return for Council approval within 30 days a resolution expressing the City’s disapproval of Los Angeles County’s implementation of the “harm reduction services” program, or “needle exchange program,” in Santa Monica.
“I’m pleased the Department of Public Health has organized a community meeting to address the concerns raised by residents regarding the harm reduction syringe services program,” Andrew Thomas, CEO of DTSM told the Daily Press, adding, “DTSM, Inc. shared this meeting information with our stakeholders. There was certainly a robust discussion regarding this issue at the most recent City Council meeting and I look forward to it continuing at this community meeting.”
scott.snowden@smdp.com