MANCHESTER, N.H. – Concerns over used needles became a point of discussion at last Tuesday’s Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) meeting.
The discussion was initiated by Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor, who questioned $153,327 in Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funding for an overdose prevention grant. This funding had been provided most recently by NACCHO, but ended on July 31. This funding would last for one year.
The grant, which received a unanimous recommendation by the BMA’s Community Improvement Committee and went into CIP through allocated opioid abatement settlement funds, would pay the salary of several individuals tasked with responding to overdoses in the city. Kantor felt that additional scrutiny was needed given city liability and needle exchange programs enabling further drug use.
Manchester Health Department Director Anna Thomas clarified that this funding is not connected to needle exchange programs. Thomas and Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais also noted that organizations hosting needle exchange programs in the city cannot be removed by the city by local government. Thomas added that needle exchange programs by the New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition’s goal for needle exchange is infectious disease control, as dirty needle usage can distribute diseases among the community. Thomas also added that first responders can also contract those diseases through contact with those using dirty needles.
BMA Chair Joseph Kelly Levasseur asked if programs such as this one are helping anyone address opioid addiction, as individuals in the city’s homeless population overdosing seem to be at comparable levels year over year. Thomas responded that part of the reason the Safe Stations program was closed in favor of the Gateway program was an attempt to distribute the burden of addressing opioid treatment throughout the state. Still, Manchester’s urban nature makes it into a gathering point for many, including those needing help.
“This is one of the tough things being the state’s largest city and the largest city north of Boston,” said Thomas.
Ruais also noted that progress has been made regarding reducing opioid deaths and overdoses and progress has also been made toward helping the city’s homeless population at the Beech Street Shelter Engagement Center. Thomas also added that funding from the U.S. Center for Disease Control is also being used toward combatting opioid overdoses.
Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long clarified with Thomas that this initiative is not targeted toward the city’s homeless community, and Thomas noted that there is a blend of demographics suffering from opioid addiction, including many unseen populations in households. However, she also stated that progress is being made in the city.
“This is a tragedy that’s happening across the country as you know, we’re not immune to it. But I’d like to think this community has really championed the work that’s being replicated across New Hampshire,” said Thomas.
While the city does not host needle exchanges and cannot stop needle exchange programs from coming to the city, but Ward 12 Alderwoman Kelly Thomas asked if ordinances can be made to prohibit needle exchanges from certain areas. Thomas noted that the city already prohibits needle exchanges from being hosted within 1000 feet of schools and all public parks.
There was also concern among members of the board that needle exchange programs be distributed across the state, standardized procedures be established at the state level and organizations that engage in needle exchanges do not receive city funding for other purposes.
“There’s more needles in this city than candy, I was about to say that they’re passing them out like candy, but there’s more needles than candy,” said Ward 5 Alderman Anthnony Sapienza.
Additional concern included figuring out how to make needle exchange organizations responsible for picking up used needles in the city’s parks and rail trails, removing some burden from the Manchester Department of Public Works and private land owners.