'It's scary' says mom after family finds needle in Victoria Park

Daina Gravesand her family wereamong hundreds enjoying carnival rides and fair food at Victoria Park on the weekend.

The fun ended quickly after her husband spotted aused syringe near their picnic table.

"[There are] innocent children running and playing, not having a care in the world and now you have to say no you can't play there, let's look first," she said.

Graves snapped a photo of her husband carrying the dirty syringe in one hand while holding the hand of their two-year-old.

She shared her frustration in a Facebook post, which received more than 1,000 shares as of Monday.

"It's becoming an epidemic, it's scary," said Graves, who wants more safety disposal bins to be installed on city grounds.

And she isn't alone.

Daniel Phillips owns a business in the Old East Village. He's noticed used syringesscattered on top of garbage piles and on sidewalks in his neighbourhood.

"I stopped walking my dog,"said Phillips.

Needle disposal

London currently has 17 needle disposal units scattered across the city and in hot spots such as Victoria Park and the Old East Village. The bins are for used syringes, needles, razor blades, andother drug related objects.

London CAReS Outreach emptiesthe bins weekly. People can also call the organization any time to come and pick up needles found on public property.

Brian Lester, executive director of Regional HIV/AIDS Connection,saidpeople who request needles for drug use are educated on disposing procedures and locations. However, many may struggle following the intake of illicit drugs.

"We are talking about a very marginalized group of people who are caught up in the tight group of addiction," he said. "People might be in an altered state after they use their syringes and may not be mindful in that moment."

Safe injection sites

Last year, the Middlesex London Health Unit declared a public health emergency over the rise of HIV and Hepatitis C, with more than 2.5 million needles handed out to drug users.

Chris Mackie, London's medical officer of health, saida controlled environment where people could inject drugs would also monitor syringe disposal.

Londoners will have the opportunity to join public consultations this fall which will determine the number of supervised injection services across the city.

In the meantime, Mackie encourages people to reach out to community groups to learn about ways to dispose of needles.

"Parents should be looking out for needle waste and they should be educating their children on what to do if they find needle waste, as well."

He saiddrug use is a reality across London that the community can only try to mitigate.