A community approach to safety, harm reduction

Lord Roberts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2025 (206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most of us know that opioid addiction affects every neighbourhood in Winnipeg, but there’s nothing like finding a used needle in your own community to drive home that reality.

The first time I found used needles near an apartment block on Osborne, I was repulsed but also curious.

Who is shooting up three times in a row and dropping needles on the sidewalk?

I turned to a streetwise friend in the area to help me get those needles off the street.

She showed up with some needle-nose pliers, an empty plastic bottle and puncture-resistant gloves. She safely plucked the needles off the sidewalk and dropped them into the bottle.

Later, she disposed of the needles in a sharps container she keeps in the trunk of her car.

Since 2019, I have continued to tell my friend every time I find a needle. Sometimes we check back alleys and the apartment blocks where we’ve seen drug deals go down.

Kevin Walker, the executive director of Bear Clan Patrol, said that being proactive is the best way to keep a neighbourhood safe.

“Come up with a plan,” he said. “Maybe that means five or six community members pick a time and walk around once or twice a week. Handing out a bottle of water and a sandwich can help prevent crime. It may mean one less garage break in.”

As the community identifies problematic apartment blocks or areas, it is important to act. If a landlord is looking the other way and not evicting a drug trafficker, community members should file complaints with the police.

Residents should also be aware of the toxicity of drugs on the street. In late January, ‘brown down,’ an opioid concoction, was responsible for 10 toxicity events within 45 minutes at the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site and in the Main Street and Logan Avenue area.

“Down is still a big problem,” said Walker. “The mixture of fentanyl and heroin can be purchased for $10 a hit and it’s very dangerous.”

If you encounter someone who appears to be overdosing, call 911 so paramedics can administer the antidote.

Naloxone temporarily reverses overdose caused by opioids such as fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone and heroin. Anyone using opioids should use with a friend and know how to use naloxone.

No one wants to see opioid addiction playing out in their neighbourhood, but Walker said Bear Clan Patrol’s mandate — to make communities safer through crime prevention, conflict resolution, and community building — works.