Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
The town of Swan River, Man., and a neighboring municipality say they are fed up with dirty needles and drug use in their communities.
Swan River mayor Lance Jacobson told 680 CJOB’s Connect Winnipeg that the town passed a resolution earlier this month banning the distribution of syringes and related drug paraphernalia.
“It’s become quite a problem that we’ve witnessed in the last year or so,” Jacobson said.
“There are people who have been stabbed while walking… It’s dangerous and some of them are left in communal areas such as playgrounds or schoolyards — it’s a huge concern.”
The mayor said the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network had been handing out needles to drug users in Swan River – five hours northwest of Winnipeg – but an inconsistency over who should be responsible for cleaning up used needles led to the solution.
The decision states that the town is willing to work with organizations to find a solution to the safety concerns. Jacobson said he would like to see a focus on rehabilitation services for drug users.
“(Harm reduction agencies) really need to come and, say, have a town hall meeting and tell the community what harm reduction is and what’s going on.”
Swan Valley West Rural Municipality has gone even further in its efforts to combat the problem.
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The city council passed a bylaw making it illegal to distribute any free needles, drugs or drug supplies in Swan Valley West, without written permission – with fines starting at $1,000 per incident per day.
Reeve Bill Gade said that the bylaw does not mean that the community permanently says no to harm reduction efforts, but that the council will be able to make sure that it is done responsibly, with a proper plan in place space to reduce safety risks to the public.
“No one here is saying you can never do this. We’re saying you’re going to prove to us that you’re going to do this in a smart, responsible way,” Gade told 680 CJOB.
“As long as you can do it, we’ll let you do it. It also means that if you’re going to build a homeless shelter, you’re not going to do it before you come and talk to us first and make sure it’s a plan that works for everyone.”
Gade said the community has problems with homelessness, daily theft in local businesses, and other crimes — even a kidnapping last week — which he describes as ‘heartbreaking’. Most residents of the area, he said, want to see a positive answer.
“Those are not things that are normal for a community of our size. We have to get to fixing them. I’ve never met anyone who says to me, ‘Gee, I wish we could get rid of the homeless’.
“Everyone I know, and everyone in this community is heartbroken for those who are addicted to drugs, heartbroken for those who are out in the cold. We want help for them. We want them to have a safe place to go. We want them to be cured of their addiction.”
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(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10776807/manitoba-communities-needles-drug-use/
