This past summer, a young boy was pricked by a needle in a Lethbridge park. Now, his mom, Janessa Fyfe, is rallying to bring change in the city, hoping to prevent another child from going through what her son has endured.
“He’s terrified of going to anything medical now. It’s really done a number on him psychologically because he’s really concerned every time he walks into a medical building,” Fyfe said.
Fyfe shared her story at a rally on Sunday hosted by Connecting our Community- Lethbridge, a group of community members concerned about the increase in crime.
Rally organizer Mallory Kristjanson said it’s important the group be vocal and the community stand united.
“We stand to connect our community, we don’t care where you work, we don’t care where you sleep. We all need to come together. Enough with the sides, we need to come together as a community to demand change and to work together.”
Warren Clark was also at the rally. He said he wants to see more resources for the city.
“Trying to get more awareness from the political level of everything, whether that be city hall or the government of Alberta, trying to get more involved and trying to get more solutions and more resources for us as a community and to have and put at our disposal.”
The group gathered along Mayor Magrath Drive, calling for more support for front-line workers, more police officers hired and more action from city leadership.
“Change needs to happen because these situations that people are encountering over and over, more violent crime, they need to stop,” Fyfe said.
The group said they will continue to speak up until their voice is heard.