State News

Venezuela, Needle Exchange Program and Miami Affordability Housing Report

WLRN 91.3 FM | By Alejandra Martinez

Published March 25, 2019 at 4:50 PM EDT

Arrow swapped his dirty needles for clean ones at the IDEA Exchange. Arrow looks healthier than he did when he was using heroin and sleeping under an overpass in Overtown.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó says authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro is not far from being ousted. Guaidó told Reuters his allies are talking to high-level military leaders about defecting to his side. Meanwhile, President Trump met with Caribbean leaders at Mar-a-Lago, last Friday to discuss the region’s support for his campaign to dislodge Maduro from power. Latin America correspondent Tim Padgett joined Sundial to update us on the latest news coming out of Venezuela.

Listen to today's full show.

Florida continues to have some of the highest new HIV rates in the country. A legislative proposal, Senate Bill 366, could make it easier for injection drug users to trade dirty needles for clean ones. Right now, only Miami-Dade County has a needle exchange. The program is called IDEA Exchange and it seeks to combat the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C in the county. WLRN health reporter Sammy Mack joined Sundial to share some of her reporting.

Mack has also covered the mental health burden of kids who survive shootings. After two young survivors from last year's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School died by apparent suicide within the last week, the Parkland community is stressing the need for more mental health awareness and resources. WLRN has compiled a list of mental health and trauma support resources if you or a loved one is struggling from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy.

Credit WLRN

Need support? You can call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

A new report classifies greater Miami -defined as an area that goes from Palm Beach and Broward to Miami-Dade County- as the 7th most expensive metro area to live in the country. “Miami Affordable Housing Crisis” was produced by the Miami Urban Future Initiative, a joint effort between the Creative Class Group and Florida International University’s College of Communication, Architecture +The Arts (CARTA). Researcher Richard Florida co-authored the report and has been studying the urban problems facing the region for more than a decade. He talked to Sundial producer Chris Remington about key findings from the report and potential solutions.