Discarded needle goes through shoe of 6-year-old in Kelowna park

Posted September 21, 2017 7:21 pm EST

1 min read

This article is more than 7 years old and some information may not be up to date.

The Vancouver Park Board defeated a controversial motion to ban balloons in parks, and is now tackling a much more serious threat: the growing number of discarded needles. Nadia Stewart reports – Sep 19, 2017

The needle epidemic in parks isn’t just a Vancouver issue and has hit close to home for a family in the Okanagan.

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Kylee Roman is speaking out after her six-year-old nephew Tal stepped on a used needle in Kelowna’s popular City park and it went through the bottom of his shoe.

LISTEN: Steele & Drex speak to Kylee Roman about the incident
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“Oh my god, everyone [was freaking out], the parents, the grandparents, and me when I heard, everyone was just freaked out,” said Roman.

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She said her nephew still has to go back to get some tests done but that luckily the risk of infection was deemed as “low.”

Roman said she understands people are dealing with their own issues but said her nephew shouldn’t be exposed to this.

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WATCH: Chilliwack parents clean up needles near school grounds

“That might have been your story that you didn’t ask for, but my nephew definitely didn’t ask for that story,” said Roman.

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“I know you’re not necessarily coherent all the of what you do and when you’re doing it, and so on, [but] I still think you should be using those [safe injection] sites.”

She said everyone was very upset after the incident.