Brockton Launches Program To Clean Up Discarded Drug Needles
BROCKTON (CBS) - The city of Brockton is implementing a new plan to clean up discarded drug needles on public property.
Mayor Bill Carpenter says trained city workers are now making daily rounds to remove any used needles. Among them is EMT Jeff Jacobson with Brewster Ambulance, checking Perkins Park in the downtown area.
"Yesterday we picked up eight needles," said Jacobson, who says it is a daily occurrence. "It's a big systemic problem. Over-prescription of medications from physicians, the addiction because heroin is cheap. There's a whole toll of problems that accompany it."
Residents can call a newly established hotline to phone in locations where used needles have been found. Ernie Bethony is a public works employee who found at least twenty needles in the bushes in a Brockton neighborhood and answered the call to collect them.
"There's a whole bunch of them in there. I have to go slow because who knows where the needles are and they could snap and come off at any time," says Bethony.
Mayor Carpenter says the city has to become more aggressive.
"We had already been working on a strategy and it certainly accelerated when we realized this was a priority that needed an organized response," Mayor Carpenter says.
Jacobson says Brockton is seeing 80 to 100 drug overdoses a month. The mayor says it's another sign of the widespread toll of the opioid crisis as needles have been found not only in parks, but at playgrounds, school bus stops, and even a local football field.
"This is a public health issue," said Carpenter.
