A collection of needles found outside a downtown Prince Albert business. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community health

Needle exchange program advocate says province should be funding patrol groups

Nov 22, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Concerns with relation to the number of discarded needles being left outside their doors were raised earlier this month at a meeting of Prince Albert business owners.

In Saskatoon, one of the ways the city has been reducing these concerns has been through special needle patrol groups, paid for through fundraising done by Prairie Harm Reduction. Executive Director Jason Mercredi told paNOW he would like to see the province pay for the patrols, and so recommended that if any business owner had concerns with needles, to contact their local MLA and ask them why needle patrols are not being funded.

“It’s easy to blame the service providers but they are trying to do stuff on a stringent budget so it’s just a service the government should be providing to the public,” he said.

Mercredi explained needle exchange programs have made a significant difference in communities reducing HIV and HEP-C transmissions, as well as public exposure to improperly discarded needles.

“They help us engage with the hardest to engage; the people that use drugs,” he said.

Community support

The Hunger Games return to Prince Albert

1h ago

Raiders win 5-3

Defensive scoring leads Raiders over Wheat Kings

9h ago

GST Holiday

Federal government's two-month GST holiday begins

Dec 14, 2024

Acknowledging the current “backpack” patrols running in Prince Albert, Mercredi recommended another solution maybe adding more drop boxes to areas where there has been a lot of needles found.

The numbers in Prince Albert

Between May 1 to Oct. 31, a total of 508,366 needles were distributed in Prince Albert, through the harm reduction program at the Access Place clinic.

This is according to information provided to paNOW by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).

During the same time, the SHA has collected 377,927 needles. This collection includes the needles returned to the clinic, as well as needles collected at the Access Place site and by the Harm Reduction After Hours (HRAH) program.

“The return number also includes needles picked up at recognized “hot spots” in the community,” the statement said.

A number of these drop boxes are located throughout Prince Albert, but there are those who believe adding more may make a difference. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

The SHA went on to explain staff have attended the known hot spots for needles once per week since Oct. 1, 2021. (Those visits were biweekly until Oct. 1). SHA staff also attends a location if someone phones with a concern.

“The returned number does not include any needles that were returned through the drop boxes located throughout the community. Also of note, needles distributed from the clinic in Prince Albert may be going to individuals living outside of the City of Prince Albert,” the SHA said.

The HRAH program is where peer mentors deliver needles on the street for two hours per day during the week and four hours a day during the weekend. HRAH also picks up needles while out, which are included in the returned total.

The remnants left behind, less than a foot away from the entrance to a high traffic business in Prince Albert’s downtown. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Story of a user

Marlene, 50, has been using drugs since she was 11, starting with marijuana and eventually progressing to Crystal Meth.

“This is my escape and I hid it for a long time too,” she said. “It’s one thing I wish I had never done but I can’t shake it. I’m trying though.”

Marlene said she began using drugs as a way to deal with the pain she suffered after being raped by a group of older men. Despite being clean for a period of 16 years, she was eventually overcome by her demons and lost both her family and her home. Prior to finding residence at Homeward Bound, she’s lived on the streets twice and explained she has seen girls, younger and younger, using drugs.

“They are getting very naive and it’s getting more dangerous on the street because of crystal meth,” she said. “None of my friends are alive that were with me on the street.”

With respect to her own use of the city’s needle exchange program, Marlene explained she does go down to Access Place and trades in her old needles for new ones, and if she does see needles on the ground, makes the effort to put them into an empty bottle so that they are not found by young children.

Believing the city’s needle exchange program is a positive one, Marlene said she has witnessed first-hand what happens when people share drugs.

“A couple of my friends caught AIDS that way but they didn’t care,” she said. “They were just all in their zone.”

Comment from the City

City Councillor Tony Head represents Ward 3, one of the areas where discarded needles have been found. He told paNOW he believes the needle exchange program has a definite purpose but acknowledged the statistics provided by the SHA, with respect to the distribution and return rate, were shocking.

“Closing that gap is the work that needs to be done,” he said.

Explaining that he has personally received a mixed bag of reviews about the program from residents, Head encouraged those who find needles, to contact Access Place so they can have someone come over and respond to it.

“The program is, in the long run, saving money for taxpayers and residents by not putting such a strain on our health care system,” he said.

—

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell