A new program aimed at cleaning up discarded needles in Oshawa will employ people with lived experience of homelessness or addictions.

The City of Oshawa in partnership with the John Howard Society of Durham Region and Region of Durham recently launched the On Point program aimed at cleaning up discarded needles on Oshawa streets, green spaces and parks.

Beth Whalen, co-ordinator harm reduction services for the John Howard Society, said the program is a great opportunity to hire people with lived experience with homelessness, substance use and mental health struggles.

“We can provide them employment between three to nine hours a week and what they’re going to be doing is seeking out any indiscriminately tossed drug paraphernalia and syringes, picking it up safely and making sure it’s disposed of in a proper and safe manner,” said Whalen. The John Howard Society is co-ordinating participants in the On Point program and also providing housing supports.

The people doing the work will be trained in the safe handling of sharps and they’ll walk a route in areas of Oshawa identified to have challenges with discarded needles including areas of the downtown and the Oshawa Creek valley where tent cities have cropped up.

They’ll also be trained to use naloxone kits. Naloxone is a drug that blocks the effects of opioids during an overdose potentially saving an overdosing person’s life.

“They’re going to be in locations where there’s a potential they may run into somebody who is in that situation and we want them to be prepared,” explains Whalen.

She points out that employing people with lived experience can help build them up but also that their perspective is valuable both in how they interact with the community and how the cleanup is conducted.

“They’re able to spot stuff, the whole idea is to seek them out, sometimes they’re not out in the open, you need to get into areas most people wouldn’t trek into,” said Whalen.

The John Howard Society of Durham Region has been providing harm reduction services locally for years including a needle exchange program which distributed almost 619,000 needles last year. Whalen said about 80 per cent were returned through the program. In partnership with the city, the organization also monitors kiosks in areas like Memorial Park where people can drop used needles, emptying them when they become full.

Whalen said there has been an increase in discarded needles in recent years.

“The bottom line is things have escalated in the past couple of years and in all honesty it seems to have kind of gone parallel with the escalating number of unhoused people that we have in the city … as that homeless issue has risen so has the number of indiscriminately tossed syringes and paraphernalia.”

Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter is a big supporter of the pilot project.

“Not only does this go to the safety of our community and our residents, but it also helps us identify areas where services are needed with regards to this opiate crisis,” said Carter.

The mayor said there are three goals with respect to the On Point program: the proper disposal of syringes, identifying areas that require services and demonstrating that the city is committed to finding solutions to the opiate crisis.

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“This crisis has impacted every aspect of people’s lives, we’re seeing more people being displaced and unsheltered because of the opiate crisis and the drug crisis that is hitting our community … I will continue to support, advocate, discover, whatever I have to do to be able to find programs to be able to help address this crisis.”

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Carter said it’s important to support people who are creating new pathways in their lives and some of the people doing the work may be unhoused themselves. The goal is to support them with housing outreach services and transitioning to long-term employment.

As someone who struggled with addiction in the past, Carter understands the power of people speaking from lived experience.

“Those of us that have lived experience, when we speak to those who are struggling with addiction, it’s authentic, it’s personal and it comes from a deep desire to help those that are struggling, you can’t fake that.”

The pilot project is slated to run until the end of June 2020.

Reka Szekely is a reporter for DurhamRegion.com. Reach her via email: rszekely@durhamregion.com

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