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Public health advocates urge Bangor council to halt encampment sweep amid active HIV cluster
Summary
Health outreach workers told the council an ongoing HIV cluster and a suspended syringe-exchange program make encampment sweeps a public-health hazard, and urged officials to delay displacement while testing and treatment continue.
Health outreach workers and community members urged the Bangor City Council on Nov. 25 to pause any planned sweep of a homeless encampment while the city responds to an active HIV cluster.
Scott Prady, an outreach worker who said he has provided services through Health Equity Alliance and local overdose-response teams, told the council that the cluster-response effort is coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and state public-health officials. He said testing and treatment efforts are under way and warned that displacement would make it harder to reach people who are not engaging in services.
"Conducting an encampment sweep during an active HIV cluster is a public health hazard," Prady said, urging the council to allow outreach teams to continue testing and treatment in place. He told the council that, at a Nov. 13 workshop, staff estimated there may be as many as 60 people not engaging with services who could be displaced by the end of the year.
Speakers also noted that the city’s syringe-exchange program has been limited and said that simultaneously suspending exchange services and clearing the encampment could raise HIV-transmission risks. A councilor asked staff to send the statistics cited by commenters to the council email address for review.
The comments did not result in an immediate council directive; the chair said items requiring action would be referred to the appropriate committee or staff for follow-up.
