Two parties have partnered with the goals of preventing drug overdoses and providing response skills to people in areas in the city where they are highly prevalent.
An initiative in Regina called Project Reportneedles.ca has been launched by the University of Regina (U of R) and AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan (APSS) over two years ago. On that website, any member of the public can report needles found.
“APSS staff will then go and collect it very quickly, and they’ve collected almost 35,000 needles in the past two and a half years, approximately 450 reports,” said Andrew Eaton, University of Regina assistant professor on the Faculty of Social Work.
“New to this website is this research project starting this month where we will be going to areas of high-needle prevalence on a monthly basis to offer pop-up naloxone training and support groups offered in partnership with community organizations.”
The partnership’s hope is that the general public in the highly prevalent spaces will be more equipped with naloxone to offer assistance and provide lifesaving support for people experiencing a drug overdose.
“People who use drugs who are not able to move around the city will be able to avail themselves … local community support for income and employment assistance and other practical concerns, and for peer support and community care to feel more hope, wellness and move towards harm reduction,” said Eaton.
APSS Executive Director Shiny Mary Varghese said Regina has the highest number of confirmed opioid deaths. Varghese said there are usually two to four reports of found needles in a day.
“As long as there’s light, we go out and pick up the needles and we try to give that education when we go out,” she said. “We could find … somebody who is experiencing a drug toxicity and we can possibly save a life while we are out retrieving a needle.”
This research project is funded by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.