Fresno’s needle-exchange program booted from county offices, but the program lives on

Fresno County’s needle exchange pilot program will be looking for a new home soon, following a vote at Tuesday’s Fresno County Board of Supervisors’ meeting to sever the relationship between the nonprofit running the service and the county’s department of public health.

The board voted 3-2 to reject a no-cost lease agreement for the program’s nonprofit operator, the San Joaquin Valley Free Medical Clinic and Needle Exchange, to extend their time working out of the Brix-Mercer building on 1221 Fulton St. The building also houses the county’s department of public health.

Chair of the board Buddy Mendes, Vice Chair Garry Bredefeld and Supervisor Nathan Magsig voted to end the partnership.

The program has run Saturday mornings from the Brix-Mercer building, offering services like the needle exchange, opioid treatment and referrals to county supportive services. 

Bredefeld, like his predecessor on the board Steve Brandau, has long railed against the program. It was one of Bredefeld’s campaign promises last year, and on Tuesday he delivered.

“When constituents in every one of our districts find out that these numbers of needles are being handed out to drug addicts, and they fund it with their tax dollars, and county resources are being used, they’re outraged, and rightfully so,” Bredefeld said. “You don’t believe me, ask them.”

The needle exchange program has been hotly discussed among the supervisors before. The vote to initiate a partnership with the nonprofit and host them in a county building in 2023 was approved in a 3-2 vote, with Supervisor Brian Pacheco and then-supervisor Sal Quintero voting to approve.

Supervisor Buddy Mendes approved the partnership two years ago. But his vote flipped Tuesday.

Public perception for the program has also fluctuated since the partnership was first introduced in 2023. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said at the time that they felt the program being housed downtown could hurt local businesses. 

Elliott Balch, CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, was also an opponent to the program in 2023. Pointing out that he had no preference toward the board’s action on Tuesday, Balch shared that he was happy to see how amiable the program was toward the needs of businesses following the program’s implementation. He also shared that, among the businesses that he and the partnership reached out to, none reported a significant impact in their immediate area from the program.

The discussion on the matter included a program update presentation run by Dr. Marc Lasher, president of the nonprofit program, and Joe Prado, interim director for the county’s department of public health. 

The presentation included key findings discovered by the program, such as the majority of users reporting themselves as homeless, which they described as an indication for new housing policy to be introduced to help stop this problem. Staff also estimated saving the region about $6.3 million in 2024 through preventative care that they said helped ease the burden on the county’s still-desperately overworked emergency rooms.

Magsig said to Lasher that, to him, “there’s a fine line between providing assistance and enabling.” Though he voted “no” in 2023, Magsig said he was hopeful that the program could at least help in reducing the homeless population. However, a recent estimate shows that homelessness has increased across the Fresno-Madera region since 2023. 

“I think keeping people out of the emergency room is good. For me, how I measure success is helping people become clean, not prolonging their suffering,” Magsig said. “Doctor, you indicated that success is keeping people alive. For me, I want to help people live. And there’s a differentiation between the two.”

Pacheco said he’d spoken to Lasher in an effort to reach a new deal that would keep the program housed in the county office, if the nonprofit simply eliminated needle exchanges. But, Pacheco said, the group balked. 

“You, quite candidly, told me you’d rather be back in the street corner,” Pacheco said of the exchange. 

The nonprofit used to run their needle exchange service through RVs and mobile stations across the county. Running the program was hard on the staff, especially during the summer and winter months. 

Now, it looks like Lasher and his program will have to become a traveling troupe once more. Though no specific location was shared at Tuesday’s meeting, Lasher said they had eyed some local parks like Roeding Park and Woodward Park as new, rotating locations for the program. 

The group is expected to stop operating from the Brix-Mercer building in about 30 days. 

Syringe service programs are “proven and effective community-based prevention programs” that can help connect residents with critical supportive services, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Their eyes will be watching ‘God’

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors also approved though a 4-1 vote on Tuesday to install two signs with the national motto, “In God We Trust,” inside the board’s chambers. The move was brought forward by Bredefeld.

The board’s vote amends Bredefeld’s initial request to have only one sign installed behind the dais, above the county logo. Following comments made by the Rev. Simon Biasell-Moshrefi, a senior pastor at The Big Red Church, a sign will also be placed at the back of the board’s chambers, so that the supervisors will have the motto in their line of sight. 

“I do find it odd that the placement would be behind you, that the supervisors’ backs would be to the statement, that you would be turning your back on trusting in God,” Biasell-Moshrefi said during Tuesday’s public comment period on the matter. 

The legality of the motto being installed inside government chambers has been brought up in the past, though the courts have allowed it. Hundreds of counties and cities already display the national motto in their government chambers, including the City of Fresno. 

Bredefeld also introduced plans to get the national motto installed inside the city council chambers in 2017 while serving as a councilmember. Bredefeld’s resolution in the city passed unanimously. 

There is no additional fiscal impact to the county to install these signs, according to county documents. The money for the signage will come from Bredefeld’s office, which is funded during the county’s annual budget process.

Pacheco was the lone “no” vote for the proposal. Pacheco identified himself as a Catholic, but said he tries to keep his faith separate from his job. He said he feels installing the signs would go against that. 

“I believe God accepts everyone, yet it seems over the last several months we do more and more things to divide people and groups,” Pacheco said. “I believe religion should be kept out of the boardroom.”

Fresno County appoints new county counsel. It’s a familiar face

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors confirmed the appointment of Douglas Sloan as the new county counsel. 

Sloan’s experience includes working at the Fresno City Attorney’s Office, where he served as the city attorney for nine years and seven as an assistant city attorney. He most recently served as the Santa Monica City Attorney since 2022. 

Sloan’s final year serving as the Fresno City Attorney included an attempted extortion case involving city councilmember Nelson Esparza. The case alleged that Esparza had threatened to fire Sloan unless he worked exclusively for him and the council majority. 

The charges were ultimately dropped by the Fresno District Attorney’s office.

County counsel’s role is to represent the county in legal matters, and to advise county agencies, boards and commissions on legal matters. 

The board’s approval also included an increase in the county counsel’s salary range by about 7%, or about $2,300.

Sloan’s appointment will relieve Peter Wall of his current role as interim county counsel. Sloan’s appointment is effective on Sept. 1.