A recent push from a Bangor organization to become a state-certified syringe provider revealed a disconnect between those who advocate for such services and residents who view providing sterile syringes as a danger to the community.
The public first learned of Needlepoint Sanctuary’s state approval to be a mobile syringe provider at a March City Council meeting. The approval led some residents to voice concerns that it would encourage drug use and cause needle waste around downtown, but providers say those fears are unfounded.
“The merits of harm reduction have been proven for years,” said William Hurley, executive director of Needlepoint Sanctuary. “They reduce overdoses, rates of HIV and hepatitis c, and studies have shown that where syringe services exist, there’s actually less needle waste.”
Hurley’s organization proposed offering syringe services out of vehicles parked in Pickering Square, Pierce Park next to the Bangor Public Library and at the intersection of Texas Avenue and University Drive, near the city’s largest homeless encampment.
The group chose those locations because they’ve offered services there for years and people who use drugs tend to gather in those areas, Hurley said. However, he said the group will find other locations after the city pushed back, “provided we can find suitable alternatives.” The group and city have yet to find alternatives.
The debate follows years of rising opioid use and overdoses both locally and statewide. Five new HIV cases among people who inject drugs in Penobscot County since late 2023 highlight the importance of mitigating the spread of blood borne diseases, according to providers.
Bangor’s two existing certified syringe providers, the only ones in Penobscot County, say sterile needles prevent people from reusing and sharing syringes, which can spread infections, blood borne diseases and cause painful wounds. The two organizations, Health Equity Alliance and Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, also offer other services for people who use drugs, such as HIV testing and naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
“Harm reduction makes our communities safer for everyone — both people using substances, people not using substances,” said Lisa Sockabasin, co-CEO of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness. “We need to meet people where they’re at and give them all the opportunity to be healthy.”
Despite services like sterile syringe providers being a pillar of Gov. Janet Mills’ plan to address Maine’s ongoing opioid epidemic, some Bangor residents feel dispensing needles condones drug use.
“I don’t understand how giving an addict the equipment they need to do the drugs is helping save any lives,” Bangor resident Justin Cartier said in a March 25 City Council meeting. “I don’t understand how they say they’re helping anything other than fostering an atmosphere of addiction.”
Sockabasin said she’s certain offering and collecting syringes isn’t leading to more people using drugs for the first time. Instead, it keeps people who inject drugs as safe and healthy as possible so they can one day recover.
“Giving out clean needles does not encourage somebody to pick up a substance,” Sockabasin said. “That substance will be picked up regardless.”
Tricia Quirk, another Bangor resident, said in the same meeting she feels the city is “enabling this drug use” without helping people access recovery services or housing.
Josh D’Alessio, executive director of the Health Equity Alliance, said syringe providers form connections and build trust with people using drugs, many of whom are wary of other resources and the health care system. Over time, providers are able to identify when someone is interested in recovery and help connect them to local organizations that can help.
“Without harm reduction, there’s no front door to recovery,” D’Alessio said. “We bring people to the Bangor Area Recovery Network, connect people to medication assisted treatment or recovery programs, recovery houses and detox centers.”
To those who argue syringe exchanges lead to more used needles littering downtown Bangor, Sockabasin said her organization collects more syringes than they disperse. They also organize syringe clean-up events that collect hundreds more.
In 2022, Bangor’s two certified syringe providers distributed more than 672,000 sterile syringes and collected nearly 751,600 used ones, according to the Maine Drug Data Hub.
Some residents, including several city councilors, have said they support services that limit risks for people who inject drugs and believe they’re needed in Bangor. However, they feel such services shouldn’t be offered in locations frequented by children and families, such as Pierce Park next to the Bangor Public Library.
“I’ve heard the argument that you go where people are using to meet the need, but what happens if people start using in the Little League fields between Fairmount and 14th Street?” Councilor Gretchen Schaefer said during a March 25 council workshop. “I think we need to set up some controls to make sure that we keep our drug-free zones as drug free as possible.”
Sockabasin said she understands the community’s concern and “how scary it is to be in an environment where you see behaviors that disagree with your family values.” However, she also feels it’s important for Bangor’s most vulnerable residents to be able to access help when and where they need it.
Finding a solution both parties can agree on will take cooperation, conversation and empathy, and “I don’t think the conversation is over yet,” Sockabasin said.
“I don’t even know if it has begun in a way where we can hear each other,” she said.