London garbage clean-up group to carry naloxone in response to city drug-use

The disappearing white blanket of snow is unveiling much more than littered cigarette butts and bottle caps it's exposing the harsh reality of widespread drug-use in the city.

An abandoned campsite tucked away in a south end woodlot near DingmanCreek is strewn with used IV bags, emptied pill bottles and up to 500 medical needles.

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It's a familiar scene for Tom Cull, the director of the Thames River Rally, a volunteer group that organizes monthly clean-ups by the river.

"It's something we regularly encounter but it never feels normal to us," he said. "I think about the lives that are affected, the people who are living this way and I think about addictions."

Cull said some volunteers are going to carrynaloxone kits along with their first-aid kits this clean-up seasonfor the first time since the group commenced seven years ago.

"With fentanyl and overdoses, we do worry that we find someone who is overdosed," he said.

"We're feeling a bit overwhelmed. We're seeing more of the camps, more garbage, more plastics, and more needles more everything."

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Last season, the group collected up to 1000 needles.

'Every year, we pick up more'

The volunteer group ventures off once a month during the year except between the months of December and March.

They work alongside many community groups including the city, which provides them with garbage bags and waste pick-up.

The group also works with London CAReS, a support service that helps vulnerable populations, to receive training on safe garbage pick-up.

Cull said finding drug-kit waste is part of a multi-layered problem related to environmental issues.

"I think that we're seeing more. I think every year we see more garbage, every year we pick up more," he said.

He said the group is often picking up household items such as vacuums or couches that people illegally drop-off in parking lots next to waterways.

He hopes more people become aware of both drug-related and environmental issues.

The group will join in on a city-wide cleanup day on April 21.