PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It is very unlikely the City Council will change the mind of the Board of Health when it comes to opening a needle exchange. But, the board does want to wait until the council has a chance to weigh in before making its decision.
Board on Wednesday decided to delay a decision on whether to give the authority for a needle exchange to open. The program is intended to help combat a growing number of hepatitis and HIV cases. Tapestry Health currently runs two programs in Western Massachusetts and is in the process of opening ones in North Adams and in Greenfield. The nonprofit has presented multiple times to city officials, with the latest appearance last month.
"I've only received positive endorsement from the people I've spoken to," Board of Health member Jay Green said, but cautioned about being presumptuous about what the City Council members are thinking.
The board is mostly in favor of signing the documents allowing qualified organizations to pursue opening an exchange. Member Cynthia Geyer said the statistics show that the programs reduce the sharing of needles and spread of disease.
"It is not just about providing clean needles, it is a touchpoint to access other services," Geyer said.
Tapestry has already presented to the City Council's Public Health and Safety subcommittee, which will file a report with the full council on Dec. 13. Then the Board of Health members will listen to the council's input and make a decision the following day during a special meeting.
"The process needs to move forward. I think it is clear throughout the state that the jurisdiction for this is the Boards of Health," said member Dominica D'Avella.
And that thought was echoed by nearly every member of the board. Member Steve Smith recently visited the exchange in Holyoke and said, "that gave me such a comfort level with opening the same kind of service to the folks here in Pittsfield. I am ready to sign whatever it takes to get the ball rolling."
Yet, the Board of Health doesn't mind waiting a week to hear what the council has to say. The board is losing three members by the end of the month though, so will call a special meeting to take the vote before a new board is formed in January.
The authorization doesn't put a timeline on the opening, it just allows Tapestry to start the process with the Department of Public Health, which funds the program. The funding is still questionable. Gov. Charlie Baker has issued mid-year budget cuts, which reduced Tapestry's funding by 10 percent.
"We are in negotiation with figuring out how much we are able to get for the North Adams program and the Greenfield program, which we are starting up soon," Liz Whynott, director of the Syringe Access Program for Tapestry Health, said. Tapestry will appear before the North Adams Redevelopment Authority on Monday on the use of a city-owned building.
The state Department of Public Health prioritizes the opening of needle exchanges, so Whynott believes there is still state support to open one in Pittsfield.
"This is a regionwide issue and just opening one up in North Adams won't solve the problem at all," Whynott said.
Health Director Gina Armstrong told the board that the city's administration wants a public outreach effort to engage the public. D'Avella said public engagement is "incredibly important" and can be done as the plans for one evolves.
Whynott said Tapestry does its own round of public outreach when looking to open any needle exchange and Pittsfield wouldn't be different.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
click for more
Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
click for more
Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
click for more
Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more