MONCTON – Richard Hyslop and his three dogs traipse through tall grass around Moncton. They’re on the hunt for used needles tossed to the ground by intravenous drug users.
“We find them in playgrounds. We find them in sandboxes sometimes. We find them in parks,” says Hyslop. “We find them beside and around buildings.”
The former paramedic firefighter is now on disability. He took it upon himself to start collecting the dirty needles six years ago, fearing the public was at risk.
“It’s easy to get hepatitis…there is a chance you can get HIV, and nobody needs that.” he says.
Debby Warren of AIDS Moncton says used needles can carry HIV and the hepatitis C virus. That’s why, five years ago, AIDS Moncton launched a formal needle distribution and collection program. The goal was to slow the spread of disease among drug users.
“We recognize that addiction is a health issue and it is not just simply having no will power or saying no.” says Warren.
Though the program, people can collect sterile needles, use them, then discreetly drop off the dirty needles in a bin at the back of the AIDS Moncton office. Warren says last year about 350 people accessed the program.
“That is just the top of the iceberg. Those are the people that come to us. There are lots of people that use drugs that don’t come to us.” she says.
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She says the program has significantly reduced the number of needles tossed away on the streets.
Meanwhile, Hyslop says he and his dogs will continue hunt for needles that don’t get turned in.
He says his dogs have learned how to sniff them out, even though they are not formally trained like police dogs. Given the infections that can be found at the end of a used needle, it’s can be hazardous for the dogs that do this kind of work.
Hyslop says dirty syringes need to be handled with care.
“If you are going to pick them up, for God’s sake, be careful. Do not try to put the cap back on. If the cap is off, put it in a pop bottle and something that is thick walled, and use a pair of barbecue tongs and please wear gloves.”
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