Dirty needles

[momamitchell]

Looks like the nice weather has brought out the "junkies" once again. I am finding dirty needles in my neighbourhood. Last year at this time, I had an article posted in the Sault Star and one on Soonews.ca voicing my concerns about the dirty needles being found. What if one of our children pick one up and poke themselves? What if a young child is playing in the park and trips and lands on a needle? Is everyone aware of the diseases and germs that live on these needles? Hepatitis and Aids being two life threatning diseases.

I also recall a news broadcast that aired last August with a local police officer... assuring the public that if any needles are found, city police are equipped to come out and clean up the needles.

Well yesterday I found another dirty needle, thrown in tall grass that my kids and neighbourhood kids play in. Instead of going to the police station AGAIN and drop the needles off, I picked up the needle and called city police. The lady whom I talked to told me, and I quote "Pick up the needle with a NEWSPAPER and stick it in a MARGARINE CONTAINER and throw it in the trash". Can you believe this? Anyone knows that YOU DO NOT THROW ANY type of sharp into your everyday trash. Throwing it in the trash has just as much risk of injuring someone as it would leaving it laying in the street.

There is a needle exchange program in town that offers clean needles to promote a safer community. I understand the whole reason behind this program, however I believe that bio-hazardous boxes should also be more readily available to dispose of these needles. We want to make the whole community safe, not just those who are using the needles

[A*lil*Loopy]

I'm fortunate enough to be attending a meeting with Ministry of Health and Long Term Care on Tuesday to discuss Hepatitis. They are looking for input, so I'll bring this to the table as well so that maybe it can be addressed on a local level.

Hopefully there will be someone on a local level attending that can be of some help on this. I'd hate to see anyone get a life altering/ending disease because of someones careless disregard for their dirty sharps.

Keep calling the police, request and demand more patrol in the area and insist that they keep their word.

[Xzavia]

Shopper's has a "Needle Exchange" kinda program in place (if you get scripts there I'd imagine). I have a "sharps" box from them, once it's full to the line I just lock it shut and take it in to them. They take it and give me another new box to use. Before this program I used the semi clear sunndy-d bottles for my needles then just taped them all up and took them to the place up in Industrial Park that accepts Sharps. (I was told to use a Javex bottle but I liked the semi clear ones as you could tell by looking at it what was in it).

[momamitchell]

I believe that if the needle exchange program is giving clean needles to "junkies" (and i apologize for using that term) then they should also make them bring back the dirty needles before handing over clean needles again. This would help reduce the number of derty needles being tossed to the ground

[Barney Rubble]

good point (no pun intended)!

[Madmax]

Put up a sign in your neighbourhood that reads...

"Please Before You throw Your Needles Away, Clean Them..Thks"

PS anyone caught throwing away a dirty needle will have to deal with the doberman pinchers in the alley.

/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

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Seriously though it is a great concern to me and others, but the only thing we as parents can do is call the police or health places to deal with such incidences.

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[A*lil*Loopy]

I agree with the return policy idea, it's an option. Unfortunately it may be difficult to get them(organization) to understand.

I was asked to be an exchange place for the junkies and I flatly refused. I don't want them in my place of business and I was very offended that I was even asked. I do call them junkies, they know what they are.

[WingNut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A*lil*Loopy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I agree with the return policy idea, it's an option. Unfortunately it may be difficult to get them(organization) to understand.

I was asked to be an exchange place for the junkies and I flatly refused. I don't want them in my place of business and I was very offended that I was even asked. I do call them junkies, they know what they are. </div></div>

Good call on that decision, Lil Loopy, I don't blame ya. Why can't A. H. U. take it upon themselves to do the exchange, that would seem the proper way to do it, not pawn them off on other businesses. Oh wait a minute they are located on the 6th floor of the city hall, can't have the junkies hanging around city hall...."looks too bad" for the city dignitaries.....

[Sophie's_Mommy]

there are alot of junkies in this city, specially the downtown area where i live, i live on a street where on the corner there is a church, these lowlifes sit on the church steps and "smash" their drugs the leave the needles behind, kids skateboard in that parking lot, me and hubby have taken numerous needles we find and dispose of them, then i have the john street park behind me where they also like to sit on the picnic table and do their thing and leave them behind there as well. it is sickening, i dont understand why they can not do it in their own homes. the needle exchange i believe will not give out needles unless dirty ones are brought in. but they hand out needles , those blue ties, saline water, cotton balls and alcohol swabs as well to these people, i think it encouraging them to do it but i guess it is good in a way to prevent disease which they all have anyways. The police do not do enough to control this problem and this problem is very huge right now. I think that they should have yellow containers on the streets , like garbage pails for these people to throw them away properly. Maybe a petition will help things , who knows all i know is its scary and kids like to play with things, so if a child sees this needle what will make them not wanna pick it up and play with it? I think the schools should be educating these kids as well to know not to touch any needles they see, thing that scares me is the fact they leave them in playgrounds. remember last summer me and the hubby went threw the park to clean it up a bit cause we know there is a huge problem there, and there was a needle with no cap on it at the bottom of the slide, i cringed when i saw that, what if a kid went down that slide and got stuck by accident before we picked it up and threw to out. I hope these cops do something this is becoming really bad.

[momamitchell]

Shawn's girl and I live in the same neighbourhood. Crawling with junkies!

[Simba]

I agree with you Shawn's girl. The only thing is there are drugs all over the highschools and lots of kids smoking dope there too. They even have their "designated" areas. The teachers and principal and even the cops know about this and nothing is being done. It makes absolutely no sense at all.

[Sophie's_Mommy]

sad isnt it, that the local authority's dont act upon stuff the should be. and yes MM this area is crawling with junkies, i was with my 7 yr old niece and we saw a women walking down the road with track marks covering her, my niece asks, aunty what wrong with that womens arm and legs, i did not know what to say so i told her , i dont know hunny. And about 6 days ago right at the same church there was this women in her 30s i d say laying on the grass, all messed up, we were walking to the store, on the way back she looked like she was sleeping, about 15 minutes later the ambulance pulls up and covers her and takes her away, nice eh, all these kids around to witness a junkie lying there dead. Cops in this town need to do a better job.

[momamitchell]

Sad. Last year across the street from me, an 18yr old boy dead.. chocked on his own vomit.... needle still in his arm. Sad. Apparently the police dont have enough man power or funding or whatever their excuse is to deal with the drug scene in town.

[Sophie's_Mommy]

i gotta pm u MM, i knew who he was

[X-Man]

I remember this thread...lol.....thats about the last time i came into here....sorry about the needles in the hood But,maybey its time to move?

so since the last time nothings really changed and here you are again in the same situation.....I'm not trying to be rude but, i guess its like taking the guns out of the ganglands of L.A. or Detroit.....probably not going to happen....the cops and the city has probably already wrote the place you live in off...so its sucks but thats just the way it is....

When is it going to sink in?......Move already!...go to a better place for the sake of your children...i would...but anyways......Good luck....but i think many in here told you this before and a huge argument ensued. So ...whatever, if you havent moved yet then its a lack of understanding the way the world works on your part...sorry but it has to be said and its sad about the danger, but like i said before, we all told you last year...so get a clue

[GRUMPY]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wing Nut</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A*lil*Loopy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I agree with the return policy idea, it's an option. Unfortunately it may be difficult to get them(organization) to understand.

I was asked to be an exchange place for the junkies and I flatly refused. I don't want them in my place of business and I was very offended that I was even asked. I do call them junkies, they know what they are. </div></div>

Good call on that decision, Lil Loopy, I don't blame ya. Why can't A. H. U. take it upon themselves to do the exchange, that would seem the proper way to do it, not pawn them off on other businesses. Oh wait a minute they are located on the 6th floor of the city hall, can't have the junkies hanging around city hall...."looks too bad" for the city dignitaries..... </div></div>

the A.H.U. is a big frigging joke.

[Jackie B]

I also live in this neighbourhood. My kids have been playing with mamamitchell's kids lately. I have never seen a needle myself, but I believe it.

As for moving, I said it last year, and I'll say it again. Not everyone can just move. We don't all have cushy hospital jobs and have thousands of dollars at our disposal. Some of us are just getting by and have to make do with what we have.

I have been toying with the idea of putting my house up for sale because of this neighbourhood, and am in the process of going through my house with a fine tooth comb to make that possible, but I have been checking the real estate scene for months, and there has not been a single house that has been in my price range, with the right number of bedrooms, and on the outskirts of town, which is where I want to live.

So chances are, I could sell my house and be out on the streets, because right now, people are waiting months just to find a rental unit.

So your comments about get a clue and such are really uncalled for...ignorant really.

[evernew]

east end, west end, downtown, uptown, there is no difference, the issue is throughout the entire Sault. There should not be an expectation that the people in the neighbourhood should move, chances are they will only move to discover the same issue in another neighbourhood. Unfortunately the people who are leaving these needles lying about, do not have the reference of mind to heed what they need to do, and that is to dispose of their needles in a safe manner. The city police will not come and dispose of these hazards, however there may be a chance that if the hospital is phoned that perhaps the paramedics may come out and retrieve these needles, I'm not really sure, but its an option. Please do not handle these needles without any type of protection, even the drug squad use steel lined gloves, although even those aren't 100%, many of these people that are using the needles are Hep A, B,and/or C positive, these dirty needles may be lethal, please be careful and educate your children regarding a safety plan if they do discover a needle. It is a shame that we as a society need to put this on our children, however being proactive may avoid a further problem

[Sophie's_Mommy]

why should i have to move? they should move, something should be done.

[Evangeline]

Downtown areas are always bad for drug use, drinking, partying, people who like to do that as a lifestyle like to be close to everything. Those type people will always be there, I would never buy a house in a down town area, expecially if I had kids.

[Sophie's_Mommy]

Well i rent, when i decide to buy it will NOT be in this area, plus my rent is awesome, 4 bedroom, huge house, 2 bath, 2 basements, all for 800 everything included..lol..now i know why it is so cheap, junkie ville own here. Then again they are everywhere.

[tippikitty]

2 basements? Never heard of that?

[Sophie's_Mommy]

ya there are 2 ways down to each basement, one side is not finished, one side is finished, there is a door that seperates them, its kool.

[Evangeline]

interesting.

maybe there are drug users in every area, but in areas where you don't have people roaming the streets at night there isn't going to be that much stuff lying around. People do it in their homes.
The people leaving needles lying around probably arn't your neighbors.

[Jackie B]

When I bought my house, I had no kids. We looked at 3 homes of people who were willing to rent to own(which we did the first 3 years until we qualified for a mortgage), and this was the only one with rental income potential, as it's a duplex. I really had no idea what a problem it would become after we had children.

[tippikitty]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shawn's Girl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ya there are 2 ways down to each basement, one side is not finished, one side is finished, there is a door that seperates them, its kool. </div></div>
Wow that's cool! I never heard of that.

[Sophie's_Mommy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jackie B</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When I bought my house, I had no kids. We looked at 3 homes of people who were willing to rent to own(which we did the first 3 years until we qualified for a mortgage), and this was the only one with rental income potential, as it's a duplex. I really had no idea what a problem it would become after we had children. </div></div>

I know what u mean jackie, i have lived on this street for almost 4 yrs now, and i never knew there was this much of a problem around here at the time (4yrs ago). I have noticed alot of undercovers patrolling this area alot, i think that the place on st james MM knows what i am talking about, is about to get raided finally. There is o much stuff going on there it is unbelievable

[Sophie's_Mommy]

i walked threw the laneway one day cause i was going to visit my friend gramma on st james street and the narc followed me all the way there, prolly thought i was going to buy coke from the coke house on st james or something.lol.who knows but it was creepy i was followed by the same car, and i knew it was a narc cause i saw the radio and stuff threw the window. See they patrol this area yet they dont crack down on anything

[Evangeline]

is the area you two are talking about the area around the casino?

[Sophie's_Mommy]

yup its close, we are around cathcart area and john street

[kim gagnon]

i think i would be moving.that has always been a bad area.

[momamitchell]

i have to disagree....it hasnt always been a bad area. I grew up here...31 years and it used to be a very quiet, pleasant area. Over the last 15 years, since certain "junkies" have moved in there has been a huge change Now I am afraid to even sit in my own back yard in the evening or on my front step.

[sage]

I am wondering if starting a committee to sort of keep an eye on the park, clean up the park and keep track of the needles you find......let the city know that it is becoming a problem. The city doesnt or isnt' going to find the resources to do it themselves, we gotta keep our kids safe. If it means on the lookout & cleaning up the local parks, then do it.