Cambridge needle distribution needs re-think, says mayor

It's not true that people who inject substances don't care about needles being improperly disposed of in the community, says Violet Umanetz, outreach manager of The Community Health Van operated by Sanguen Health Centre.

"The majority of people who are using substances, who are injecting substances, are disposing safely," she told CBC News, "and the last thing they want is increased stigma around substance use in our community."

On Sunday, volunteers picked up 648 needles and five crack pipes around areas of Cambridge during a community cleanup organized by A Clean Cambridge.

Group administrator Mary Jane Sherman said most of the needles were found in the tunnels leading to Elgin Street.

Whether those needles were all from drug use is hard to say.

"The syringes themselves are not trackable," said Umanetz, "We have a lot of people who access needle syringe programming for a variety of reasons." 

Volunteers 'not the answer'

"The needles are only symptomatic of the much bigger problem of opioids and fentanyl," Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig told CBC News.

"We need to engage both the regional and provincial governments in particular. We need to have more support in terms of dealing with the addiction issues," he said.

The mayor said municipal officials have been looking at the issue since early September, putting together a task force "including everybody from the police to the food bank to social services" to deal with the problem of inappropriate needle disposal.

"I can't depend — nor can the community depend on itself — to have volunteer groups going out every weekend to pick up needles. That's not the answer." 

Syringe disposal

Grace Bermingham, harm reduction manager for the Region of Waterloo Public Health, said the region has a needle distribution program that is designed to prevent the spread of blood-borne infections, including HIV and Hepatitis C.

The program is run out of seven locations: three in Kitchener, three in Cambridge, and one in Waterloo.

Drug users who visit a needle distribution site are given containers to dispose of the needles. 

One of the locations in Kitchener is the Community Health Van. Umanetz said the van will respond to calls for needle disposal. In these cases they distribute sharps containers and, if necessary, pick up filled containers.

When needles are found on roads, the Region of Waterloo is responsible for pickup, and when they are found on city property, people can contact the municipality or township for assistance. However, if found on private property, needles are the responsibility of the property owner.

Distribution

"I think Public Health has to explain to us how they're distributing needles," Craig said. "And secondly, is there a better way of not handing them out in large numbers to certain people?"

"What's happening now can't continue," he added. "It's important to keep the community safe, too."

Umanetz added that people who use substances "are even more upset" when syringes are found in parks and people get hurt, because those problems distract people from the bigger picture surrounding substance use  in the community.

"We have to accept on some level that there has always been substance use," she said.

"We're not under attack by some other people. This is our own community and we have people who are suffering greatly."