December 2002

Milwaukee Needle Exchange Funds Diverted

After restoring $150,000 to its AIDS prevention education program, the Milwaukee County (Wis.) Finance committee voted 6-1 to prevent its use in needle exchange programs. The only member to vote against the proposal, Ryan McCue, said he personally favored spending county money only on AIDS prevention education but he had recently “heard clearly from his constituents” that they favored funding needle-exchange programs as well.” The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin holds the contract to provide county AIDS services. Mike Gifford, an ARCW staffer, said that the committee’s decision to limit how the center uses the funds is a “significant change.” He said the group will need to find funding from outside sources in order to continue functioning at its present level.