LEWISTON — The Church of Safe Injection, a needle exchange program located on Main Street downtown, will reopen next week following an extended closure.

The organization’s leader said challenges with financing and staff forced them to close up shop in April, and that they’ve used the time to “regroup.”

The closure came at a time when the organization was under the spotlight from city officials over needle waste, with some questioning the effectiveness of needle exchanges and its impact to the downtown business district.

Zoe Brokos, executive director of Church of Safe Injection, said grant funding for a two-year pilot program that had allowed the organization to hire a number of peer navigators ended, and that they will open with a restructured staff of eight Monday.

At the same time, Council President David Chittim said Wednesday that the City Council will hold a workshop next week “to hear staff suggestions for possible approaches to regulating exchange programs within the city.”

The council had previously discussed holding a workshop with the organization to learn more about the needle exchange program and possibilities for addressing needle waste, but Chittim said those initial talks have “stalled.”

Chittim said he’s hoping a second workshop in June can be scheduled with “subject matter experts,” including the local needle exchange programs, after which, “the council will be better positioned to make decisions that consider the possible ramifications of local control.”

Mayor Carl Sheline said Wednesday that he wants the Church of Safe Injection’s input “as we work to develop solutions to this issue that balance harm reduction with the need to protect our residents and local businesses.”

The Church of Safe Injection, at 195 Main St., is one of two syringe service programs in Lewiston, which are certified and overseen by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization operates a needle exchange program, in which used needles are traded for new ones, but also provides sterile supplies, naloxone and services like health testing.

The organization operates under a harm reduction model, which is meant to reduce the shame and stigma of substance use while offering access to clean supplies in order to reduce transmission of blood-borne diseases like hepatitis C and HIV.

In April, a sign on the door of the office listed a number of dates that it would be closed due to “staff medical leave,” stating that its normal schedule would resume April 21. However, the office has been closed since, with a handwritten sign that said, “Sorry — we are closed. Hopefully we will be back soon.”

Brokos said this week that due to the difficult nature of their work, Church of Safe Injection has closed for short periods in the past for staff training, support or turnover. She said they have lost a few employees recently due to finding other jobs or struggling with substance use. The organization often hires people with lived experience in long-term recovery due to its mission.

“Sometimes we just need a pause,” she said. “The burnout factor is real with this work.”

However, this time she said, it was a funding gap caused by the end of the grant contract, the coming end of the fiscal year and slow reimbursements from the state.

The organization receives funding from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of Behavioral Health, and is reimbursed based on monthly invoices, but receiving the funding in chunks can be challenging based on the ebbs and flows of a year, Brokos said. She said most organizations doing similar work “don’t feel it the way we do” because their syringe service is part of a larger organization.

She said with uncertainty around harm reduction work under the Trump administration, she’s trying to find more ways to cut costs.

“I don’t anticipate this getting any better,” she said. “It’s hard because the need is so huge, especially in Lewiston.”

Brokos told the Sun Journal in March that the Main Street office sees an average of 25-50 people a day.

The prevalence of discarded needles in Maine cities where exchange programs operate has been a source of contention in recent years. Some point to a 2022 change that moved away from a one-to-one needle exchange to a more needs-based model, under which programs can give out as many as 100 clean needles at a time. But advocates say research has proved the model’s effectiveness and that programs generally take in as many needles as they give out.

But, even as the evidence supports the model from a public health perspective, mounting needle waste has led to increased pressure on Church of Safe Injection.

Brokos said the organization is often the target of those looking to place blame for discarded needles or the presence of homeless individuals in the area. It can also lead to rumors, she said, like one this week about a neglected cat in the organization’s empty office.

During the closure, some residents reported seeing a cat in the storefront window, and reported concerns for its well-being to city staff. Brokos said the two cats are well taken care of, with herself or other employees stopping in to feed or check on them.

The cats came to Church of Safe Injection through a client, who has since died, who asked the team to look after the animals as she was about to become homeless.