NEEDLE BOXES READY FOR DOWNTOWN

Downtown Kamloops will likely be fitted with needle drop-off boxes as early
as next week.

The City of Kamloops has been working with the Interior Health Authority
during the past year to address the growing problem, says HIV/AIDS outreach
nurse Gayle Carriere.

The needle problem was forced to the forefront a few weeks ago when used
needles were dropped in yellow parking ticket boxes.

Carriere says they're just waiting for the locks to arrive so the needle
drop-off boxes can be installed and secured. Initially, one box will be
placed outside the Street Clinic on Lansdowne Street where discarded needles
are often found.

In the fall, she says, if the community accepts the idea, further boxes
could be added -- especially in high traffic areas such as Riverside Park.

"There has always been a problem," Carriere says, but she believes it's an
issue that has a remedy.

Despite public fears of drug addicts haphazardly placing needles everywhere,
most addicts are aware of where they put used needles and most, she says,
try to keep them safely away from the public.

That's why some people put needles in the parking ticket boxes, she says.

Many times, needles end up in the garbage or outside the entrance to the
Street Clinic, she says, which shows the willingness of drug addicts to want
to keep the public safe.

"It's very conscientious of people to want to put them away, they don't want
children picking them up. It's the same theory of having garbage cans. If
you have them, people will use them."

City parks manager Dave Hilton says he'd like to see a drop-off box placed
in Riverside Park, where many city workers come across needles and are
having to dispose of them.

"That's where I understand the majority of the problems are," he says.

Carriere agrees there is a need for boxes in area parks, especially
Riverside Park, which is one of the most visible and busiest places in the
city.

The boxes, Hilton says, would also be part of a public education system.
Boxes will include information and instructions on what should be done
should someone come across a used needle.