The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has revoked Church of Safe Injection’s license to operate after its building at 195 Main St. was condemned late last month.

While state officials initially suspended its certification as a syringe service provider, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday the department has issued a revocation of the license after receiving more information in the wake of the condemnation.

The notice sent to the organization’s co-directors states that after the suspension on Aug. 28, “the department received additional information and reports, which led the department to conclude that the certification must be revoked.”

The city condemned the building Aug. 27 after police and code enforcement staff said they found several biohazard risks, including needles, unsecured sharps containers, fecal matter and evidence of unauthorized individuals sleeping in the basement.

Maine DHHS spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said the revocation is effective for all potential COSI locations statewide. However, while the group previously operated at seven different Maine locations, Lewiston was its only remaining location. 

According to the letter, Church of Safe Injection has the right to appeal the decision within 30 days of receipt of the notice.

Up until now, it was one of two licensed syringe service providers in Lewiston, which are overseen by the Maine CDC. The providers across Maine are meant to be a resource for individuals to access clean needles in order to reduce the spread of blood-borne disease, as well as often the first point of contact for people entering long-term recovery from substance use disorder.

However, Church of Safe Injection, which opened on Main Street in 2022, has had a long and controversial past and a strained relationship with city officials and some neighboring businesses.

In response to the condemnation, the organization’s staff denied any responsibility for the conditions at the Main Street building, stating that it was the result of unhoused individuals breaking into the building, and that the condemnation was the city’s latest move in its “war on harm reduction.”

In a social media post, the organization said, “We have all kinds of big feelings about the way in which our community partners jumped on the sensationalized bandwagon after the local media portrayed us as savage, filthy monsters, responsible for the choices of unhoused folks needing a safe place to sleep.”

Prior to the building condemnation, the City Council had been crafting an ordinance regulating needle exchange programs in Lewiston. Since then, there appears to be more support for having only one syringe service provider in the city.

Spurwink operates the other needle exchange program in the city, at 1155 Lisbon St. As of 2024, there were 10 certified syringe service providers operating 21 locations in Maine.

Zoe Brokos, co-director of Church of Safe Injection, did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday.