A new syringe service location in Bangor is shutting down because of a zoning issue shortly after it opened, according to the organization’s executive director.
Needlepoint Sanctuary runs harm reduction programs for drug users and is one of two certified syringe service providers in the city, as Penobscot County experiences an HIV outbreak.
The organization spent the past year looking for a permanent location, according to Executive Director William Hurley, and began offering services at 1009 Ohio St. last week. However, services have been discontinued at the new office as of Monday, he said.
“Shortly after opening, we received notice from the City of Bangor Code Enforcement Department that our occupancy of the building constitutes a non-permitted use of the Neighborhood Service District our new office is located in,” Hurley said in a statement.
It’s unclear exactly how long the new location was open. Hurley said last week that it would begin offering services July 24, but said in the statement Monday that it opened July 3.
While the city had discussed potential syringe exchange locations with Needlepoint Sanctuary staff in the past, “there were never any discussions about specifically the Ohio Street location,” said city spokesperson David Warren.
“The city understands that Needlepoint Sanctuary provides important services, but unfortunately those services are not an allowed use within the zoning in that part of Bangor,” he said.
Neighborhood service districts are meant to host small stores and offices and “are limited to commercial and mixed uses that will have minimal impact on a neighborhood,” according to the city’s code.
City officials previously expressed concerns about Needlepoint Sanctuary’s initial plan to offer mobile syringe services in public spaces like Pickering Square and Pierce Park. The group’s new office is far from downtown, located between a gas station and a creek.
Needlepoint Sanctuary is working toward “securing a space where we can provide syringe services,” according to Hurley’s statement, and plans to expand its other services in the meantime.
The organization already runs testing and care navigation services at least once a week on Tuesdays out of the Unitarian Universalist church at 120 Park St., where it typically sees between 50 to 100 people on a given day, according to Hurley.
The group now plans to add a second weekly service 1-5 p.m. Mondays, according to Hurley.
“This [HIV] outbreak is a public health crisis,” he said in the statement. “Our brick and mortar service was fully prepared to meet the needs of this moment.”
