Our Syringe Pickup Program
Our "Rig dig" program picks up used syringes and paraphernalia from the downtown core.
AVI is able to collect syringes and paraphernalia beyond the facility on a limited basis through the work of volunteers. Last year, 5,432 syringes were picked up in the downtown core, compared with 4,361 the year before and 1,996 in 2003. The purpose of the collection program is to significantly reduce the number of discarded syringes and related paraphernalia on the street through an organized collection program.
The Peer Outreach Syringe Collection Program is part of Street Outreach Services (SOS). SOS provides harm reduction services, including a volunteer off-site syringe collection program as part of the needle exchange program. The needle exchange was started in 1989, Canada’s first needle exchange, and the off-site syringe pick-up has been in place for more than seven years.
During the past ten years, the number of people injecting drugs, and the number of syringes being used, in Greater Victoria has increased dramatically. Over the past five years, the number of active clients has increased 36% and the number of needles has increased 148%. Over the last year the number of needles has increased 24% from 814,023 dispensed in 2004 to 1,011,659 in 2005 with a rate of return of 100%.
“For me, as an ex-user, it’s trying to become part of the solution. It’s part of my recovery. It’s the most visible side and the downside of the disease.”
" The program gave me the opportunity to develop different relationships with people from the business and residential areas. We'd have conversations, tell jokes or say hello. I wasn't just a junkie to them."
The monthly exchanges for August 2005 were 2,050 and for the fiscal year were 28,489 for an average of 2,374 exchanges each month.
The negative consequences of this increase in injection drug use include more overdoses and overdose deaths, more injection drug users with blood-borne diseases (including HIV and Hepatitis C), tuberculosis and a host of other illnesses related to injection drug use.
Since the spring of 2002, there has been a significant increase in the number of discarded syringes and paraphernalia in the downtown core. The discarded syringe situation continues to be regarded as unsanitary and a potential threat to public health by many groups and individuals in Victoria. Hotspots, including government buildings, have been identified by staff from BCBC, the BC Ministry of Health, the public, and also by staff from AIDS Vancouver Island. AVI is only one of a number of sources for clean syringes in Victoria, yet is perceived by the larger community as being responsible for syringe and paraphernalia clean-up throughout Victoria’s downtown. The off-site syringe pickup is an important part of the health and safety of our community.
Last year, 5,432 syringes were picked up in the downtown core, compared with 4,361 the year before and 1,996 in 2003.
All of the volunteers who do off-site syringe pickup are marginalized. The majority live with unstable housing; that is, they sleep on the street or in shelters when they can, and occasionally live in rooms for short periods of time. Most have mental health issues along with their addictions. They face multiple barriers in their lives on a daily basis and often have little or no self-esteem.
Even with all these barriers, people come forward to be volunteers. Those selected have been on time for all shifts and cover their assigned areas with vigor. They receive numerous comments from the general public, all of them positive, about the job they are doing.
The volunteers often experience other positive rewards through the syringe collection program. This program provides a dramatic change to their perception about themselves and the possibilities for change in their lives. This honourarium-based “employment” also adds stability to their lives.