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Council Member Linda Lee's perspective on syringe service programs and community engagement
1:17:25
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160 sec
Council Member Linda Lee offers her perspective on the complex issue of syringe service programs (SSPs), emphasizing the need for a balanced approach and community engagement. She acknowledges the concerns raised by her colleagues while also highlighting the importance of understanding the work of SSPs firsthand.
- Lee encourages her colleagues to visit SSPs to gain a better understanding of their operations and impact on communities.
- She stresses the importance of involving various stakeholders, including community boards, schools, and law enforcement, in discussions about SSPs.
- Lee concludes by thanking her colleagues for raising legitimate concerns and expresses hope for addressing the issue collaboratively.
Linda Lee
1:17:25
Okay.
1:17:26
I think we're gonna move on to public testimony soon, but before I do that, I just wanna how do I say?
1:17:36
I think this is a very complicated issue.
1:17:39
I actually think that as a social worker the mantra always is you got to meet people where they are so I understand what you guys are saying.
1:17:46
I understand that there's a lot of concerns which obviously you're hearing today which hopefully you can come back to us with some of those answers, but I will also say that this is a huge issue in crisis that I know that you guys, no offense to you, are not going to fix by yourselves, right?
1:18:04
It cannot be done by you alone and this is a community wide issue, I know that it is also an issue that is very hidden in a lot of communities and there is a ton of stigma which is why you know and and I gotta say if you, I'm more than welcome, I have visited some of these SSPs and I highly encourage my colleagues to visit and actually see what they're doing because it's very different to read about it on paper and then actually see what it is that they're doing.
1:18:32
And so I would be more than happy to go with any of you guys if you're willing to and ask a lot of the questions that we have because I do think that in the past when these SSPs come up there have been a lot of concerns from the neighborhoods actually right where they are.
1:18:47
But I think that's where we need to make sure that the community voices, folks from the community board, folks from the schools, folks from you know NYPD and all the other folks that are very much involved in how these sites are run, how they actually operate in the community and and see it versus hearing about it.
Darlene Mealy
1:19:11
But I did ask that.
1:19:12
She said there's no pushback on it.
1:19:15
Did you not say
Linda Lee
1:19:16
Oh, no.
1:19:16
No.
1:19:16
That was for the kiosks if I'm understanding correctly.
1:19:19
Yeah.
1:19:19
The kiosks.
1:19:19
Not the SSPs.
1:19:20
That's different.
Darlene Mealy
1:19:22
So I gotta look at that.
Linda Lee
1:19:23
Yeah yeah no and highly encourage because I have to say you know and I know that all of us have different views and thoughts on this rightfully so, it's not an easy issue but I'm hoping that what you're hearing today is a different viewpoints which I think is important to take back right, is that you want to hear from a broad sort of spectrum of voices and concerns and hopefully what we can do then is take that back and then translate that into stronger programs and you know what we need in the community.
1:19:57
So I want to just thank my colleagues here because I think their concerns are very legitimate and I just hope that we can address this issue together.
1:20:05
So thank you.