BOSTON — Part of the City of Boston's new plan to tackle the so-called "Methadone Mile", officials are now working to expand clean needle exchanges to other neighborhoods.
More commonly a problem in the South End and the downtown area, drugs have been plaguing the streets of Boston for years. In part, it's due to access to the drugs themselves, but also to the facilities aimed at helping drug addicts.
Methadone clinics are scattered along Methadone Mile, in contrast with the open-air drug market the draws in the crowds of people looking to score.
In an effort to decentralize services away from the area, the city is hoping that providing more safe spaces for people to use their drugs will curb the amount of people openly using drugs in the street, sharing needles and living in unsanitary conditions.
Drug users travel from all over the greater Boston area gravitate to this needle exchange program on Albany Street, lining up on a daily basis to collect clean needles.
"When it first opens in the morning there will be a line down the block," said Johnny, a drug user.
While drug addiction is a problem of its own that's often dealt with having users quit cold turkey, curbing public drug usage is part of a plan to improve public health and the quality of life of residents.
The Albany Street needle exchange site is one of the few programs like it in the area.
"It seems like they are promoting drug use but that's not what it is at least," said Johnny. "They know people are going to do drugs no matter what."
Johnny, as he identified himself to us, believes the clean needle exchange program is making strides in HIV and Hepatitis C prevention, something he wishes was around when he first started using.
"I acquired Hepatitis C and unfortunately I knew what I was doing," said Johnny. "The kid said he had Hepatitis C and I still used his needle."
The clean needles he now routinely picks up at AHOPE, he says, is preventing the further spread of these diseases. Johnny says it's not just the distributed needles having a positive impact on people's health, but also the Narcan provided at the facility.
Needle exchange programs, much like methadone clinics, have been a controversial topic. Opponents say the sites enable and encourage drug use, while supporters argue it's a way to regulate and ensure safety for something that's already happening.
Recently, an uptick in 311 calls for discarded needles across the city has been raising public health concerns, where nearly 2,000 of those calls were made in 2016 in comparison to over 4,000 calls only in the first half of 2019.
According to data collected by the city, AHOPE had a syringe return rate of 116% in 2018, where more needles were returned than given out. Last year, the program also distributed about 18,100 Narcan kits, receiving more than 23,000 reports of overdose reversals as a result.
"Having them throughout other neighborhoods will make it so that its less concentrated here," said Emily Anderson, a South End resident.
Anderson and other residents are eager to learn when the other sites will open in the city, hoping it'll decentralize the volume of people who gather on Methadone Mile every day.
"It puts unnecessary pressure on one neighborhood, this is something the whole city should be dealing with," said Anderson.
A city spokesperson says the specific locations have not been identified yet. Boston 25 News was told that any proposal would first start with a community engagement process.
Currently, there are about 20 needle exchanges operating across the state of Massachusetts.
>> MORE: City of Boston unveils new plan to tackle 'Methadone Mile'