Needle Kiosk at the Wabano Centre in Vanier.
Photo by Maureen McEwan.

OTTAWA – Rideau-Vanier marks another year as the city ward with the highest number of discarded needle and syringe complaints. Many needle collection services exist but the public says a safe injection site in the downtown core could be the solution to minimizing the issue.

The City of Ottawa received a total of 101 service calls for improperly disposed needles in 2016. Rideau-Vanier (Ward 12) was at the top of the list with 58 instances reported. The second highest was another downtown ward, Somerset (Ward 14), with 12 complaints over the year. The remaining calls for discarded needles were scattered, with most wards reporting a single complaint if any.

(Please click the link below for a map of the 311 calls.)

For years, the Rideau-Vanier and Somerset wards have received the majority of 311 calls concerning needles and syringes. Both wards have the highest calls per capita, with Rideau-Vanier having 11.8 calls and Somerset having 2.9 calls per 10,000 residents. The recent reports for January and February indicate that the trend continues into 2017.

Craig Calder is the Program Manager with Environment Health Protection at Ottawa Public Health (OPH). He says that OPH has always seen “a significant spike” in needle finds and needle box usage in Rideau-Vanier and areas.

“If you look at the numbers on the Open Data, you can certainly see a significant number in Ward 12 which is Rideau-Vanier,” Calder says. “But I don’t want to divert resources that would essentially take away from the suburban users of these boxes as well.”

Calder says that OPH maintains 78 needle kiosks around the city. The kiosks allow individuals to dispose of their needles safely at accessible public areas. Some are in the Rideau-Vanier area but many are distributed. Calder adds that the kiosks are not used exclusively by intravenous drug users but also by individuals with medical conditions such as diabetes.

(Please click the link below for a map of the needle box locations.)

There are varied services besides needle drop boxes. The City of Ottawa also facilitates the “Take-it-Back!” program which allows individuals to return needles to participating pharmacies. Needles are also collected at the Site Needle & Syringe Program and with OPH’s site mobile vans. And there are “proactive” services like the needle hunters and city internal staff members who pick up needles when 311 calls come in, Calder says.

“There’s a number of different, overlapping pieces to our fairly robust needle program – I think we have the gold standard, actually,” he says.

Since 2012, the services have collected over a million discarded needles annually.

As an Employment Coordinator, Hilary Leavens helps run the Needle Hunter program at Causeway Work Centre which employs 40 people.

Wearing their trademark safety vests, needle hunters embark every day to collect needles and safely discard them. No job experience is needed but they require a level of comfort for the work, Leavens says. Their routes are contained mostly in the downtown core. Leavens says that the Lowertown routes are busier due to increased foot-traffic, a concentration of social services, and “pockets of homelessness.”

Despite these services, the 311 trend has been consistent for years. While the city may have a strong response, needle collection may need review.

The latest census data indicates that Ottawa’s population is growing which may shift ward demographics. Calder says that the model’s resources expand as the city does but for the moment, it’s a “well-oiled machine.”

But the increase in opioid and intravenous drug use in Ottawa could place immediate pressure on services. The city may be required to adapt or reallocate resources if the opioid situation escalates.

Sean LeBlanc is a founder of Ottawa’s Drug User Advocacy League (DUAL) and a former opioid addict. DUAL supports users and advocates for services like the safe injection site.

LeBlanc says that the City and OPH services, like the needle hunters and black boxes, do “a great job” with their work. But there’s a gap: Leblanc says more program involvement from people with lived-experience would help. In other cities, peer-level models have proven effective with needle distribution and collection, he adds.

The Sandy Hill Community Centre put forth a proposal for a safe injection site to the federal government. The Centre is located in the Rideau-Vanier ward. In a September OPH survey, respondents indicate that the site could improve needle collection.

To support needle collection efforts in the downtown wards, further community services and engagement could be needed soon.