Public health vending machine

Defended the machine, explaining it's only for enrolled AIDs Care Ocean State clients with access codes and serves as a point of connection for services, not a solution to all of Newport's problems.

ACOS representative explaining the program's two branches — case management and prevention — and confirming there will be no needles in the machine.

AIDS Care Ocean State representative explained the state's seven harm-reduction and seven public health machines, and that access codes can be restricted or generic.

School committee member and Prevention Coalition representative urged support, saying addiction affects every walk of life and the machine fosters dignity for vulnerable people.

A former ACT team director with a decade of street-outreach experience called the machine a 'metal box of neglect' and said people in crisis need human contact, not vending machines.