Community Contemplates Options After Local Syringe Service Program Ends

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham City Council held a discussion regarding local syringe service programs (SSP) during their meeting on Tuesday, September 2.

Program RISE—a part of the the Needham-based nonprofit organization Justice Resource Institute (JRI)—has provided resources like free testing for HIV and Hepatitis C, along with overdose prevention and harm reduction services. That included access to clean syringes and places to safely dispose of syringes that have been used.

Following a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in 2017, syringes became available for anyone to purchase. However, local approval is needed before state funding through the Department of Public Health can be offered to any group that provides SSPs, like syringe collections, Narcan distribution, as well as overdose education and prevention. In 2019, the Framingham Board of Health approved of JRI’s application for a publicly funded SSP—a requirement of which was the collection of littered needles across the community.

Framingham’s Public Health Director Bill Murphy told the City Council on Tuesday that the clean syringe program has helped prevent people from getting sick through dirty needles while also providing other benefits.

“People who were in syringe service programs are three-times more likely to stop using drugs and five-times more likely to enter treatment, so there’s significant benefits to having these programs exist within the city,” Murphy said while citing a 2015 report provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Murphy pointed to the number of Hepatitis C cases in Framingham as additional testimony to the syringe service program’s effectiveness; local data shows that the confirmed number of Hepatitis C cases in the city fell from 104 in 2018 to 18 in 2024 and 14 through August of 2025. From 2019 through recently in 2025, JRI collected over 563,000 needles while distributing more than 343,000. Murphy explained that JRI had previously tried identifying and tracking hot spots for these syringes while also commending other municipal departments—like the Framingham Department of Public Works and the Framingham Police Department—for assisting in these cleanup efforts.

Now, JRI’s website shows an update from August noting that Program RISE has moved from its 1 Grant Street site to a number of other local locations; harm reductions services are now available at 110 Mount Wayte Avenue, close to the intersection with Franklin Street.

Murphy told City Councilors that JRI ended the syringe service program two weeks ago as publicly funded clean syringes were no longer being provided. The Public Health Director said the city did not get any prior notification or reasoning behind the decision, adding that JRI had notified residents to contact the Framingham Health Department if they see any needles. Murphy said that communication “troubles (him) deeply,” adding that the city does not have the front line workers to properly address the cleanup issue. He mentioned that the city’s relationship with JRI’s leadership is now “damaged.”

At-Large City Council member George King—who is on the board of directors for local opioid awareness and advocacy group Framingham FORCE—expressed disappointment in JRI’s decision. He believes something has to be done in the interim for the benefit of public health, even if the sight of needles and the overall topic of syringes in the community is not a pleasant one.

“I don’t want to see people put their head in the sand and think that this isn’t a problem, because it is,” King continued on Tuesday.

“Just willy-nilly saying ‘No’ to programs that do work—whether people like them or not, they do work—is just, to me, unconscionable.”

District 4 City Councilor Michael Cannon called upon JRI’s leaders to discuss the matter with local legislators in order to foster a broader community discussion. He stressed the desire to consider harm reduction’s benefits while also hearing from residents who are concerned with littered needles along with property managers and business owners.

RMA Management President David Depietri, who oversees the Grant Street property where JRI was located, called the experience with them as tenants a “nightmare for everybody” on Tuesday. He said he is not against the SSP, but rather he is concerned about the process of implementing these services.

“If you’re going to have these programs, the public deserves to have the right to know where they’re going to be located, whether somebody’s going to locate them in their building,” Depietri said during the City Council’s meeting.

Framingham FORCE co-founder Cathy Miles told local legislators that it’s “a little short-sighted” to expect that there will be less syringes on the ground within the community if there is not a SSP implemented that offers clean syringes.

“We have syringes on the ground because we have an opioid epidemic,” Miles said.

“So what we will have by handing out syringes is less disease, less people dying, and more compassionate care; more people entering programs.”

At-Large City Councilor Janet Leombruno expressed her belief that finding a proper location for a new SSP is paramount; City Council chair Phil Ottaviani of District 6 agreed, pointing to the economic development that Framingham is in need of.

The Framingham Board of Health will be continuing this discussion during their meeting on Tuesday, September 9.