In light of Congress recently lifting the ban on funding syringe exchange programs, a nonprofit collaborative called Syringe Access Fund awarded 58 grants totaling $2.6 million to be disbursed over the next two years, according to a press release from AIDS United, a member of the fund.

Supporting syringe exchange programs is important because infected needles result in 3,000 to 5,000 new cases of HIV and nearly 10,000 new cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) each year. What’s more, the press release stresses, scientific evidence shows that the exchange programs don’t promote drug use; instead, they significantly reduce the transmission of blood-borne illnesses.

Founded in 2004, the Syringe Access Fund is supported by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Irene Diamond Fund, Levi Strauss Foundation, Open Society Foundations and AIDS United.

The 2016 grantees are:

  • AIDS Alabama—Birmingham, Alabama
  • AIDS Project Worcester, Inc.—Worcester, Massachusetts
  • AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • AIDS Resource Center Ohio, Inc.—Columbus, Ohio
  • Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association—Anchorage, Alaska
  • Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, INC.—Atlanta
  • Austin Harm Reduction Coalition—San Marcos, Texas
  • BOOM! Health—Bronx, New York City
  • Border AIDS Partnership—El Paso, Texas
  • Casa Segura HEPPAC—Oakland, California
  • Chicago Recovery Alliance—Chicago
  • Clark County Public Health—Vancouver, Washington
  • Clean Needles Now/ LA Community Health Outreach Project—Los Angeles
  • Colorado Nonprofit Development Center dba Harm Reduction Action Center—Denver
  • Community Health Awareness Group—Detroit
  • Criminal Justice Ministry—St. Louis
  • Down East AIDS Network, Inc.—Ellsworth, Maine
  • El Punto en la Montaña—Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
  • Families and Youth, Inc.—Las Cruces, New Mexico
  • Fort Peck Tribal Health Department—Poplar, Montana
  • Frederiksted Health Care—Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Fresno Needle Exchange Program—Fresno, California
  • Harm Reduction Coalition—New York City
  • HIPS—Washington, DC
  • HIV Alliance—Eugene, Oregon
  • HIV/HCV Resource Center—Lebanon, New Hampshire
  • Homeless Youth Alliance/San Francisco Needle Exchange—San Francisco
  • Housing Works, Inc.—Brooklyn, New York City
  • Howard Brown Health Center—Chicago
  • Hyacinth AIDS Foundation—New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Indiana Recovery Alliance—Bloomington, Indiana
  • Interior AIDS Association—Fairbanks, Alaska
  • Kansas City CARE Clinic—Kansas City, Missouri
  • Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government/Public Health & Wellness—Louisville, Kentucky
  • Mendocino County AIDS/Viral Hepatitis Network—Ukiah, California
  • Migrant Health Center, Inc.—Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
  • National Native American AIDS Prevention Center—Denver
  • New Orleans Trystereo Syringe Distribution—New Orleans
  • North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc (NCHRC)—Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Northern Nevada HOPES—Reno
  • People’s Harm Reduction Alliance—Seattle
  • Point Defiance AIDS Project—Tacoma, Washington
  • Point Defiance AIDS Project: Shot in the Dark—Tacoma, Washington
  • Prevention Point Philadelphia—Philadelphia
  • Prevention Point Pittsburgh—Pittsburgh
  • Project SAFE—Philadelphia
  • Safe Horizon—New York City
  • Santa Fe Mountain Center—Tesuque, New Mexico
  • South Jersey Against AIDS, Inc. (DBA South Jersey AIDS Alliance)—Atlantic City, New Jersey
  • Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation—Tucson, Arizona
  • The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland—Cleveland
  • The Grand Rapids Red Project (HIV/AIDS Services, Inc.)—Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • The Portland Needle Exchange Program—Portland, Maine
  • The San Francisco Drug Users Union—San Francisco
  • Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico—Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • University of Miami—Miami
  • Urban Survivor’s Union—Greensboro, North Carolina
  • Washington AIDS Partnership—Washington, DC