171 K
Pipes Collected
149 K
Needles
Collected
61 +/-
Participants Employed
What We Do
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Social Impact
We create meaningful social impact by providing employment opportunities to individuals facing barriers to the workforce, empowering them with skills and experience while enhancing community safety.
Safer Communities
We contribute to safer communities by providing essential paraphernalia cleanup, reducing the risks associated with improperly discarded drug and sexual paraphernalia and promoting public health and safety.
Raising Awareness
We raise awareness about harm reduction and public safety by educating communities on the importance of proper paraphernalia disposal and fostering a collective commitment to a cleaner, safer environment.
How Does It Work?
The Needle Hunters program in Ottawa, Ontario, plays a vital role in enhancing community safety and public health by proactively retrieving improperly discarded needles, pipes, and other paraphernalia from public spaces. Established in 1998 and funded by the City of Ottawa & Ottawa Community Housing, Needle Hunters is a social enterprise owned and operated by Causeway Work Centre, a charitable organization that provides employment opportunities to individuals facing barriers to the workforce.
Each day, teams of Needle Hunters patrol priority neighbourhoods, including Lowertown, Sandy Hill, Centretown, Somerset West, Hintonburg, Carlington, ByWard Market, and Vanier, to identify and safely dispose of hazardous paraphernalia. Their routes are regularly reviewed and adjusted based on historical data and community input to effectively target areas with higher incidences of discarded paraphernalia.
