San Diego County paid the Harm Reduction Coalition millions of dollars to address the ever-increasing number of drug overdoses. Now, both of its contracts are canceled, and the organization is under investigation for its use of the money.
Harm Reduction Coalition founder Tara Stamos-Buesig is back to where she started five years ago as a grassroots organization: on the street, providing clean needles, syringes, medical supplies and doses of naloxone. Often referred to by the brand name Narcan, naloxone can be used to quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
Narcan is an easy-to-use nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Here’s what you need to know about this life-saving drug.
The group’s work earned it two county contracts worth millions of dollars to distribute naloxone and test street drugs for users.
“I could have been silent, and things probably would have continued the way they were,” Stamos-Buesig said.
While in the process of a private outside audit, Stamos-Buesig says it became obvious one of her employees was not properly managing the money. Stamos-Buesig says it had to do with the rental of naloxone vending machines the organization placed in some jail lobbies. They have since been removed.
“I’m on the streets all the time. I’m not sitting in there with magnifying glass looking at documents all the time,” Stamos-Buesig said.
She went to the district attorney.
“I had to go to the district attorney, and it was me that had to go and have a conversation,” Stamos-Buesig said.
A spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney’s office says there is an investigation into the organization. NBC 7 asked for more details about that investigation and was told that’s all the information being released.
Stamos-Buesig said that for now, the DA’s office is trying to determine what exactly to call it and do about it. She says without warning, both multimillion dollar county contracts were canceled.
“They said it was for convenience. I don’t know whose convenience,” Stamos-Buesig said.
According to county spokesperson Tim McClain: “Termination for convenience allows one party to end the agreement without stating a specific breach of contract by the other party.”
“I am really sad. I am hurt. I am shocked,” Stamos-Buesig said.
The Harm Reduction Coalition is now back to an organization of one, plus a few kind volunteers.
Stamos-Buesig says since the contracts were canceled, the county gave her just 240 doses of naloxone to distribute. Before, she had up to 8,000 in her storage room. She is sad but not discouraged.
The county says it is working with partners to ensure the public has access to naloxone and is currently reviewing those canceled contracts.