Motion for a needle recovery program in New Bedford killed in committee

A motion that was originally supported by seven of 11 New Bedford City Councilors in 2016 to bring a “Neighborhood Needle Recovery” to New Bedford was officially killed by the Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods in November, 2018. The Committee voted to take no further action on the motion:

REPORT, Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods, recommending to the City Council to take “NO FURTHER ACTION” on the WRITTEN MOTION, Councillors Abreu, Bousquet, Oliveira, Martins, Winterson, Coelho and Rebeiro, requesting, that in light of the recent discarded needle epidemic on our City streets, public parks and playgrounds, that the City of New Bedford engage the New Bedford Police Department, New Bedford Health Department, Neighborhoods United, Operation Clean Sweep representatives and representatives of both Southcoast Health System and Hawthorn Medical Associates about forming a “Neighborhood Needle Recovery” program similar to what is currently being instituted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the “Neighborhood Needle Recovery” Program recovers needles quickly and safely in a number of ways, including, supplying needle drop boxes throughout our Downtown and other high-traffic areas in the City, conducting regular needle sweeps on school grounds and parks and in locations affected by high volumes of discarded needles, recording where and how many needles are discarded in public places, and coordinating needle pick-up with community groups, the purpose of this program is to not only insure that our streets, public parks and playgrounds are safe and secure from potentially dangerous discarded needles, but that we also will have created a system which encourages intravenous drug users to discard needles appropriately.