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I kinda made this post out of spite for the fact the most previous post in this community, whose title I quoted/copied, was getting so many downvotes... At the time I posted this, the previous post had about a 30% downvote rate, and it really, really made me mad.
I am relieved tho to see people in the comments here who have real, actual empathy for their fellow humans. Thank you for contributing here.
It blows my mind how normalized it is to hate on those who are struggling. Especially in 20fucking23 when so many of us now are on the verge of it ourselves. Let's be better, everyone - to everyone. I beg you.
I'm so sick of people talking about needles whenever homeless people come up. It's slander, plain and simple.
I used to live in Seattle directly next door to a homeless encampment. I used to walk by it every single day for 2 years. I have never ONCE seen a needle on the ground, day or night. You know what I did see a bunch of? People claiming that there were needles everywhere, without a shred of evidence.
This is one of those things that's gonna vary greatly based on location. Your experience doesn't change that other people may be experiencing something different
Worth noting needles found in camps do not always belong to unhoused people there.
From first-hand experience, Vancouver downtown Eastside does have needles everywhere. Then again, nobody really walks through downtown Eastside, so I guess it's fine.
Uhhh...great? I'm happy you had a good experience? But the data and programs over the last few years disagree with your assertion here.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/more-than-32000-syringes-collected-in-pilot-needle-program/ (note why it was started)
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/citizens-group-that-cleans-up-used-drug-needles-is-fed-up-problem-grows/FSEEUYCOWBH63DDXPDLMLYGI2I/
https://mynorthwest.com/2361336/seattle-ramps-up-efforts-clean-litter-needles-graffiti/
Are all homeless folks users that leave needles lying around? Statistically, no, of course not. Is it a likely correlation? The data is above for you to draw your own conclusions.
i mean, this is obviously a systemic problem though, right? like, if being caught with drugs can put you in jail, and there aren't places for you to properly dispose of needles, they're gonna go on the ground. if you don't stigmatize drug use, provide places for people to safely use, and give them places to properly dispose of their needles, they won't be littered anymore. its the same reason why unhoused people often live near garbage. if there isn't infrastructure for collecting garbage where people live, the trash is gonna go on the ground, and its gonna build up. the same thing would happen to people in houses if we didn't have our garbage picked up on a regular schedule.
The people by you might not be IV drug users and the people leaving needles around aren't necessarily homeless. Almost all of the opiate addicts I know are or were housed but the IV users would still use in public.
Those needles found in camps could belong to housed people who used near the camp or in the camp and do not live there.
Also worth mentioning unhoused people are not necessarily drug users. I know a lot of sober Iraq vets on the streets of NYC.