Advocates Decry Defunding of RI's Only Syringe Exchange Program

RHODE ISLAND—A nonprofit that administered the state's only syringe exchange program is decrying the loss of $65,000 in state funding that they say will prevent the safe disposal of more than 50,000 needles.

AIDS Care Ocean State officials Tuesday said that a legislative grant sponsored by Warwick State Rep. Eileen S. Naughton was not renewed by the General Assembly, eliminating a key source of funding and the only program of its kind to offer "comprehensive, holistic, resources and harm reduction services, including syringe exchange, drop off and disposal for intravenous drug users."

The organization has "reached out to our local elected officials; Governor, Gina Raimondo, Speaker of the House, Nicholas Mattiello, and President of the Senate, M. Teresa Paiva Weed. At this time none of these officials have responded to validate our concerns and recognize what a significant loss this will be to our community," according to a press release.

The state Medicaid Office, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the state Department of Health are looking into possible sources of funding and those efforts are "encouraging and very much appreciated," the release stated.

The Education, Needle-exchange, Counseling, Outreach, and Referrals program was established in 1994 and targets vulnerable community members in an effort to stop HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis transmission through the widespread sharing of needles between drug users. Concerns are as great as ever with the ongoing opioid epidemic affecting every community in Rhode Island.

ACOS said a campaign among healthcare providers, advocates, local authorities and the community is targeting elected officials, urging them "to reconsider, reallocate and rededicate the necessary funding to ensure this program is able to continue without an interruption in ENCORE’s funding stream to ensure we are not putting members of our most vulnerable communities at risk."

The ENCORE program has helped lower HIV infection rates by more than 20 percent and distributed nearly 60,000 syringes in 2015 alone. It also collected 43,808 syringes that might otherwise ended up discarded on the street.

Discarded needles has become a widespread problem and not just in the state's urban centers.

ACOS said the grant was to cover supply costs.

The legislative grant program has been the subject of widespread scrutiny over the past year after the former House Finance Committee chairman, Bristol's Raymond Gallison, abruptly resigned amid a police investigation.

The legislative grant program is a pool of $2.2 million set aside for the Speaker of the House and Senate President to dole out based on requests submitted by lawmakers. The grants are typically a few thousand or less, but some can be substantial, like the $125,000 the speaker himself awarded Cranston youth sports programs.

The program has been criticized for enabling powerful lawmakers to steer money toward local groups to bolster their electoral chances—each grant is often announced with a photo of the lawmaker handing over a check. It also gives two people immense power to pick winners and losers and spend taxpayer money without much oversight. And some charities find themselves relying on a steady income source only to find it suddenly vanish one year.

Photo courtesy: AIDS Care Ocean State