City taking active role in addressing crisis
Council has provided funds to assist with needle cleanup
The City of Lethbridge has taken an active role in dealing with the opioid crisis — particularly in terms of cleaning up needle debris from public spaces. Funding for the needle distribution and subsequent cleanup is not the responsibility of the City, but council has made efforts to assist with the process in order to alleviate some of the pressures on ARCHES, as well as address concerns by the community.
Last year, the City provided $32,000 to assist with needle cleanup.
This year, an additional $54,000 was supplied to fund the program from April to December.
In May, Council passed a resolution to direct up to $150,000 in unallocated Outreach Support Services Initiative funds to expand the Downtown BRZ Clean Sweep Program and enhance current mobile outreach services to help deal with needle debris.
While not allocated specifically to the ARCHES clean-up program, the Clean Sweep Program has been used extensively to assist in clearing needle debris in the downtown core.
Parks staff are trained in the safe handling and cleanup of needle debris and is part of their regular maintenance of public spaces throughout the year. Needles recovered by Parks staff are recorded and tracked, and inform decisions on other debris reduction efforts, such as the placement of needle disposal boxes.
The City also communicates regularly with local school staff. Custodial staff have been trained in the safe handling and cleanup of needle debris.
The City is one of 16 local organizations which make up the Executive Leaders Coalition on Opioid Use. The Coalition was formed in 2016 as a way to improve coordination between services and respond locally to the opioid crisis.
The Coalition includes representatives from the health, police, justice, emergency medical, postsecondary, municipal, education, and social service sectors.
With a goal of coordinated community outreach, Coalition strategies include prevention, early intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Additionally, the City has held a number of public meetings where experts have been able to provide information to the public directly.