We are still open during COVID-19 and taking precautions to maintain the safety of participants and volunteers. When visiting our sites or meeting with us on deliveries, please take precautions including wearing a face covering and maintaining a distance of 6ft from others.
Shot in the Dark (SITD) is Phoenix’s own radical harm reduction collective.
We provide access to a variety of harm reduction resources to people who use drugs in Maricopa County, including: clean syringes, syringe disposal, Naloxone, educational resources, treatment referrals and much more.
Our mission is to bring solidarity and health equity to the marginalized populations of people who use drugs and sex workers in Maricopa County through framework of harm reduction and evidence-based education.
We wish to expand our syringe access program to reach more participants and strengthen our effectiveness in preventing the spread of IV infection.
We will continue to reduce the amount of opioid-related deaths by maintaining THE lowest barrier access to the life-saving overdose reversal drug Naloxone.
We strive to bring compassion to the stigmatized of our community by showing them that their health does matter.
Help give back to your community by donating today
While politicians hold press conferences, we work directly on the streets. We never charge for our services, and rely on our neighbors to fund our work. Join us by donating to support the health of our community.
How are donations used?
We are a radical collective of volunteers, funded almost entirely by participants and community members. Our members work hard and take no payment for the hours they spend serving our participants. This means that 100% of community donations go toward buying supplies, and your donations end up directly in the hands of those we serve
Why Syringe Access in Arizona?
Why does Arizona need SAPs?
Arizona is experiencing an unprecedented rise in injection drug
use, leading to increases in Hepatitis C and overdose deaths.
In Maricopa County from 2013 to 2015 there was a 27%
increase in new Hepatitis C cases, with an estimated 77,000
Arizonans currently living with the infection. Although it is legal
to sell syringes , very few pharmacies in the state do so. This
creates an environment of pervasive needle sharing among
individuals who are unable to stop using, putting the public at
risk of an HIV epidemic.
SAPs also provide a unique opportunity to engage with drug
users who do not access any other social services. This
enables drug users to receive referrals to resources like drug
treatment, health care, and housing from outreach workers who they trust
How do SAPs connect people to drug treatment?
People who use drugs are often marginalized and encounter
numerous barriers when seeking drug treatment. SAPs act as
a gateway to treatment by helping SAP clients connect to
resources and navigate the complex application process. In
fact, research indicates that SAP participants are five times
more likely to enter drug treatment than non-participants
Don’t SAPs just enable drug use?
No! Decades of scientific evidence have concluded that SAPs
do not cause an increase in drug use. Some studies have
shown that SAPs decrease drug use by connecting people
who use drugs to treatment. It has also been shown that drug
users who had participated in a syringe access program were
more likely than non-participants to reduce or stop injecting
How do SAPs decrease HIV and Hepatitis C?
SAPs decrease the transmission of blood borne disease by
decreasing the likelihood that people who inject drugs will
share syringes, and by collecting used syringes from the
community to properly dispose of them. An estimated 50-80%
of drug users become infected with Hepatitis C within five
years of their first drug injection. Studies show that SAPs
decrease hepatitis C transmission among drug injectors by as
much as 50%. Areas with SAPs have enjoyed an 80%
decrease in new HIV infections among people who inject
drugs . Less infections means fewer infected needles in
circulation, creating a safer environment for the broader public.
Do SAPs really reduce crime?
SAPs decrease crime by connecting participants to drug
treatment, housing, food pantries, and other social services. In
one study, Baltimore neighborhoods with SAPs experienced
an 11% decrease in crime, compared to those without SAPs,
which saw an 8% increase in criminal activity
Contact Us
East Valley
602-456-9811
West Valley
623-738-5539
Please text us as we are not able to take phone calls.
For media inquiries, contact Rae at
media@sitdaz.org
Want to learn more about harm reduction?
Here are some some helpful resources on harm reduction that anyone can check out or pass along to those who need:
Healthcare Rights
Quality Healthcare is your Right
Basics of Hepatitis C Transmission
HCV Basics
How-to survival guide for injection drug users
Getting Off Right