PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Ed Rendell gave Prevention Point the city’s blessing shortly after it opened in 1991, making its needle exchange mission legal under city law in an effort to curb the spread of AIDS. But its city support has a crack in it, emanating from the office of Councilmember Quetcy Lozada.
“If it was up to me, it wouldn’t be there,” she said recently when asked about Prevention Point, and she has vowed to scrutinize its city funding this budget season, blaming it for discarded needles that litter the area.
Lozada and three other council members have formed a Kensington caucus to address drug use there. While other members, such as Mike Driscoll, are more favorably inclined toward Prevention Point, he too questions its core mission.
“We do know some aspects of this work are making a difference. The needle exchange is one that we really have to take a hard look at because I’m not convinced that’s working,” he said.
Another Kensington caucus member Mark Squilla also took a softer stance when asked about Prevention Point’s work, but did back up Lozada in some of her concerns.
“We need to do a deep dive into what’s happening there at Prevention Point,” said Squilla. “There’s a lot of negative impact surrounding that and we as a city need to make sure that is addressed moving forward.”
Prevention Point has expanded to provide medical care, housing, treatment and other services, but interim lead executive Silvana Mazzella says it takes back more than 96 percent of the needles it distributes and the service is indispensable.
“We are trying our best to be good neighbors in this community and we will continue to step up those efforts, but these are life-saving services that have to exist,” she said.
When it comes to the impact of Prevention Point’s work, a 2019 study suggested it prevents about a thousand AIDS cases a year and saves taxpayers about $200 million in costs for care.
In addition to targeting Prevention Point, Lozada and the Kensington caucus have also eyed fellow harm-reduction nonprofit Savage Sisters. The caucus released a statement hailing the recent announcement that Savage Sisters was losing its space along Kensington Avenue.