Lowell Board of Health Debates Future of City's Syringe Service Programs

LOWELL — November 5, 2025 — Lowell's Board of Health heard sharply divided testimony on syringe service programs, with state health officials and local councilors clashing over effectiveness and neighborhood impact. Massachusetts DPH Assistant Commissioner Don Fucata and Dr. Alex Wally presented data showing syringe programs reduced HIV transmission by up to 58 percent and averted more than 12,000 HIV cases in Baltimore and Philadelphia over 10 years, saving an estimated $250 million annually. Katherine O'Connor, clinical director of Health Innovations, disclosed that federal funding cuts have reduced her Lowell operation from three to two days per week. Councilors countered that two full-time city employees now spend their days collecting discarded syringes, and one said he was "inclined to abolish" the program. The DPH Bureau of Substance Addiction Services director pushed back on calls for involuntary treatment, saying the state spends more than $16 million per year on civil commitments that data show increase overdose mortality risk. A pending City Council ordinance that could impose a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools — and possibly parks — had not yet been formally drafted as of the meeting, with the city solicitor indicating the matter will return to the council for a public hearing.