Holly MatkinSeattle, WA – A taxpayer-funded homeless shelter is encouraging heroin users to administer the drug rectally and is doling out pipes to those who want to try smoking it instead.
The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) recently hung fliers at their Navigation Center on 12th Avenue South informing addicts about the types of free drug use paraphernalia the shelter can provide, KTTH reported.
“New at the Nav!!! Booty bumping kits,” one flier proclaimed, before launching into the benefits of administering heroin rectally.
“Good choice if your veins are hard to hit. Less risk of infection and abscesses. Less damage to skin and veins. Doesn’t leave tracks,” the taxpayer-funded shelter touted. “As the front desk for kits and more info.”
A second flier urged addicts to consider smoking heroin instead of injecting it.
“Smoking is a lower-risk alternative to injection,” the flier read. “Give it a try!”
In order to make smoking heroin even more convenient, addicts were urged to ask staff members to give them free pipes.
“You can now get 3 kinds of glass – bubbles, stems, and hammers,” the flier read. “You can get one kind of each pipe once a week. Extra screens and mouthpieces are available at the front desk.”
According to Seattle’s Human Services Department, the methods being pushed by the DESC “reflects the varying needs of those experiencing homelessness in Seattle,” KTTH reported.
The DESC, a self-proclaimed social justice organization, has touted itself as a homeless advocacy group that utilizes “harm-reduction techniques and evidence-based practices,” according to the news outlet.
“The efforts we make are focused on reducing risks to people engaged in risky behaviors, and helping people make use of treatment that can be helpful to them,” DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone told KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show.
A homeless shelter uses Seattle city funds to feed an addicts deadly disease. Tax dollars are used to buy heroin pipes, syringes, and “booty bumping kits,” which allow users to rectally inject drugs for a more intense high. I discussed my exclusive on @TuckerCarlson Tonight. pic.twitter.com/QhbiK46ydp
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 23, 2021
Malone confirmed that DESC utilizes “funds from our contract with the City of Seattle to purchase clean syringes and other harm reduction supplies,” and noted the “demand” for clean syringes is much higher than the demand for pipes or kits for administering the drug rectally, KTTH reported.
“We try to reduce the stigma around substance use to encourage clients to share openly and honestly about their experiences and needs,” Malone said. “We speak to clients frankly and directly about the risks and dangers of substance use and the options available to them about changing their use.”
“We have substance use disorder counselor and opioid treatment nurse positions at the shelter who provide motivational interviewing, and individual and group counseling,” he added.
HSD spokesperson Kevin Mundt refused to answer direct questions about the fliers, according to KTTH.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office would not respond to repeated requests for comment.
