Charlottetown needle exchange moving back downtown

The province announced a new location Friday for its needle exchange program in Charlottetown.

Starting in early January, the program will be run out of the Professional Boardwalk Centre on Water Street.

The move is an attempt to get more people using the program. The province took over the needle exchange program from AIDS PEI in April and moved it from downtown to the Ellis Brothers Mall in the north of the city.

The mall location was a problem from the start. AIDS PEI reported it was serving 15 to 40 people a week out of its downtown office, but traffic at the new provincial office started out at a trickle.

AIDS PEI staff said some clients told them they did not want the government to know they used needles.

Less than a month after it opened, the government announced it was looking for a new location. Seven months later, officials have unveiled the Water St. site.

In a news release, chief health officer Dr. Heather Morrison said use of the needle exchanges in Charlottetown and Summerside has been increasing.

"For the month of September alone, over 1,900 clean needles were distributed," Morrison said. "This speaks to both the need for the program and positive response from clients."

She said the issue of trust is being worked on.

"The public health nurses have really been working on that over the last few months since the needle exchange program was initiated," she said. "I think that continues to be a relationship that's an ongoing work-in-progress."

Mark Hanlon, the executive director of AIDS PEI, said he is thrilled the needle exchange is going back to a downtown location.

"We've been asking for this and advocating for it since that was taken over by the province in April," Hanlon said.

"Geographical distance was the biggest concern that we had from our clients that used to use our needle exchange when we had it, and we're thrilled that they are at least listening to that. But we are cautiously optimistic about it. We haven't been asked for any input or any expertise."

Hanlon said he wishes AIDS PEI had been involved in deciding the location in the first place.

The new office will open in early January.