harm reduction
To The Point
Posted July 19th, 2007 by GretjenPrevention Point Philadelphia and Scribe Video Center
Ryan Saunders and Wanda Moore, with Cindy Wong and Keith Fulton
Does everyone, no matter who they are or what they do, have a fundamental right to health and safety? Prevention Point Philadelphia thinks so, and has since its inception in 1991 as a grassroots, volunteer organization conducting syringe exchange when it was still very much an illegal activity. To the Point documents the struggles and triumphs of this long-time needle exchange program committed to protecting the health and rights of habitual drug users and sex industry workers.
Prevention Point Philadelphia works to provide safe and human alternatives to the war on drugs. Since its off-the-radar and illegal beginnings in 1991, they have grown into a recognized, multi-service public health organization that continues its commitment to a community-based model that seeks to minimize the adverse consequences of injection drug use and sex work, such as HIV or Hepatitis C infection. Prevention Point staffers and volunteers meet drug users where they are, providing information and access to treatment for people with dignity and respect. They promote harm reduction through syringe exchange, medical care, social services, and referrals to drug treatment.
Ryan Saunders produces documentaries, multimedia and web projects, many of which explore the Caribbean immigrant experience. His recent works include Bacchanal Time: The People's Carnival, a documentary about North America's Caribbean-style carnivals and Mother Dot's Philadelphia: The Music Continues, about the Philadelphia jazz scene, produced in collaboration with Malkia Lydia for WYBE TV 35's Philadelphia Stories.
Film and videomaker Cindy Wong has also served as a production facilitator on the 1996 Community Visions project, FACE TO FACE [link].
Keith Fulton is a director and producer whose works, produced with Lou Pepe, include Brothers of the Head, Lost in La Mancha, The AMC Project: Malkovich's Mail, and The Hamster Factor and other Tales of 12 Monkeys.
April 2002 - Brief mention in "Scribe Celebrates 20th Anniversary," The Independent
