fb-pixel Skip to main content
Ipswich

Ipswich health board considers syringe service program

The Ipswich Board of Health at its Monday, June 6 meeting will continue public discussions about the possibility of bringing a syringe service program to town.

Interested community members are invited to attend the session, set for 5:30 p.m. in Town Hall Room C.

The board began discussing the potential syringe service program on May 9, when Susan Gould Coviello, executive director of the Gloucester-based North Shore Health Project, met with the panel to suggest the idea. Since 2016, the Project has provided such a service for Gloucester.

Starting in 2016, the state has allowed cities and towns to adopt syringe service programs — in which people who inject drugs can access sterile needles and syringes and dispose of used ones — and 41 communities to date have done so, according to state data.

Advertisement



At the June 6 meeting, the board will be joined in the discussion by representatives from the state Department of Public Health and North Shore Health Project.

John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.