By Kendrick Del Orbe

The Summer is over, and school is back in session in Lowell. Children are using the last warm days of the year to enjoy the fleeting green of our city parks, yet one thing remains the same: our mismanagement of the current vagrancy issue.

The motion on the agenda of the Lowell City Council to ban all needle distribution and drug consumption programs within the vicinity of Lowell’s parks and schools is not just reasonable; it is necessary.

While harm reduction programs play an important role in addressing substance use, our parks and schools cannot and should not double as staging grounds for these initiatives.

At the heart of this issue is a simple truth: the safety of children must come first.

I know this reality firsthand. As a seasonal staffer at the Lowell YMCA, part of our daily responsibility during the summer months is ensuring that the spaces we bring children to are safe. We’ve institutionalized “park sweeps” into our protocol—walking fields and playgrounds before the kids can set foot there, scanning for discarded needles, broken bottles, and spoiled clothes.

The fact that this practice has become routine for youth workers in Lowell should trouble every single policymaker in our city. Childhood should not require risk assessments before a game of tag.

Advocates who argue against restrictions often emphasize the importance of accessibility in harm reduction. But accessibility for some cannot come at the expense of the safety of our most vulnerable. We must draw a firm boundary around schools and public parks—places meant to nurture, not endanger.

The proposed 1,000-foot buffer zone is not a radical stance. It is a bare minimum safeguard.

Still, we must acknowledge that restricting needle programs near schools and parks addresses only part of the crisis. Substance use disorder is as much a symptom of a broken mental health system as it is a public health challenge.

Our state delegation must stand with Lowell in calling on Governor Maura Healey to take immediate, decisive action: reopen mental health institutions, expand the state’s budget for providers, and ensure those professionals receive fair pay, strong benefits, and ample paid time off so they remain committed to serving Massachusetts patients. Without these supports, the revolving door of untreated mental illness and substance abuse will continue to devastate communities like ours.

This is a multifaceted issue, yes—but at its core, it is about protection. Children should not stumble upon hypodermic needles in the very spaces designed for their growth, learning, and play. By supporting and enforcing this ban, Lowell’s City Council will send a clear message: we will not sacrifice child safety on the altar of convenience.

Now, we need our state leaders to match that energy with meaningful investments in mental health infrastructure.