Hundreds of used needles were cleaned up from an abandoned home and yard in Winnipeg’s North End Wednesday.
James Favel, with the Bear Clan, said they’d known the location was a problem for a long time, regularly finding used needles in the yard. But Wednesday night they got some help from a Winnipeg Police Service community officer, who was able to get them inside the garage on Flora Avenue Tuesday.
“It was quite disturbing what was found in there, I think they took probably 300 needles from there, then they wouldn’t go any further in because the smells were pretty severe,” Favel said.
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Photos posted to the Bear Clan Facebook page showed hundreds of needles gathered and secured in containers and members cleaning a filthy garage.
Favel said some nights they find more than 100 needles throughout the community and that they’ve safely disposed of thousands since the spring thaw.
“It’s really horrendous to see this level of addiction in our community,” Favel said. “That’s a lot of pain…in there.”
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Favel believes intravenous addicts are discarding their needles because they’re afraid of being arrested and charged for possessing a syringe.
“‘They’re disposing of their needles irresponsibly… and safe injection sites can help with that.”
The Bear Clan also called on the owner of the home on Flora Avenue to secure it and clean the area up.
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