A Bangor nonprofit that runs a sterile syringe exchange program and other harm reduction services is expanding its offerings by moving into a new space this week, according to the group’s executive director.
Needlepoint Sanctuary, one of two certified syringe service providers in Bangor, has spent the past year looking for a permanent location after city officials expressed concerns about the group’s plan to offer mobile syringe services in public spaces like Pickering Square and Pierce Park.
Syringe exchange services provide clean syringes to people who inject drugs, which helps prevent the spread of bloodborne diseases like HIV and hepatitis C. After another syringe service provider, the Health Equity Alliance, shuttered this spring, others in the city have expanded.
The city’s remaining syringe providers are filling a growing need as new HIV cases continue to rise in Penobscot County in an outbreak mostly affecting drug users and homeless people.
The new location is on Ohio Street, Executive Director William Hurley said, and will offer services on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting this week. Google lists the address as 1009 Ohio St., which is also the location included on a Needlepoint Sanctuary Facebook post advertising a training event on Friday.
“Our model is very holistic,” he said, explaining that services can include anything from STD testing to just offering a safe space to hang out and have a snack.
Volunteers also connect people who need medical care with other providers. The fact that the program “is led and founded by people with lived experience that is similar to the people that we’re working with” is essential for building trust with vulnerable people who may be hesitant to interact with traditional medical providers, according to Hurley.
The group is already running services at least once a week on Tuesdays out of the Unitarian Universalist church at 120 Park St., Hurley said. It typically sees between 50 to 100 people on those days.
The new Ohio Street location is further from downtown, but it can be accessed by the Community Connector bus route M from downtown to a stop at Mitchell Street and Bolling Drive, which is about a seven-minute walk away, according to the city’s website.
