WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The HIV/HCV Resource Center is hosting a community syringe cleanup day at Lyman Point Park on Friday from 1 to 4 p.m.
This is the first time the Lebanon-based nonprofit has invited community members to a syringe cleanup. The organization provides medical case management services to low-income people affected by HIV, hepatitis C and substance use in Grafton and Sullivan counties in New Hampshire and Windsor and Orange counties in Vermont.
“We’re really hoping to involve more people from the community,” said Laura Byrne, executive director of the HIV/HCV Resource Center.
The center began its syringe exchange program in 2006, Byrne said. Last year, the organization gave out about 3,800 naloxone doses and tracked about 780 “participant-reported overdose reversals,” she said.
Resource Center staff members regularly respond to reports of discarded needles that residents submit through QR codes posted at Hartford Town Hall and around town.
The idea for a community cleanup grew out of mounting public concern over syringe waste, Byrne said.
“We wanted to do something about (syringe waste) more actively and more visibly,” she said.
Participants will meet at Lyman Point Park at 1 p.m. Registration is not required, and participants must be at least 16, Byrne said. Cleanup supplies, including tongs and sharps containers, will be provided. Questions can be directed to the HIV/HCV Resource Center at 603-448-8887.
