To: Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council Please find the Take Back Santa Cruz Needles Solutions Team Needles in Public Spaces (NIPS) report attached. […]
Don’t Toss the Needle!
Michael Bertoni, a local graphic designer, concerned about the discarded needles in his neighborhood, sent us this: I am a local graphic designer and illustrator that lives in the Emeline/Grant […]
Needles in Public Spaces Report, January 2016 (updated)
To: Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council January 2016 Please find the Take Back Santa Cruz Needles Solutions Team Needles in Public Spaces (NIPS) […]
El Nino Brings Needles to Seabright Beach
Over the past few weeks, Take Back Santa Cruz’s Needles Solutions Team has seen a dramatic increase in reports of needles found on Seabright Beach, which is located in Santa […]
Needles in Public Spaces Report, December 2015
December 12, 2015 Email sent to the City Council and the Board of Supervisors Subject line: Needles Solutions Team – Needles in Public Spaces Report: 9,453 needles found in […]
Complaints Sky Rocket over Syringes in Street, San Francisco
“In a bid to protect the most self-destructive elements in society, San Francisco has put everyone else’s health at risk by eliminating the exchange half of the bargain.” Debra J. […]
Analicia Cube: No acceptable risk level for ourselves, our kids
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Letter to the Editor March 30, 2014 The impact of publicly discarded needles on local citizens and families is undeniable. A father stepped on a needle and […]
Seventh Confirmed Needle Stick Injury on Father’s Day
A 59-year-old local man – we’ll call him “J” – received an unpleasant “gift” for Father’s Day this year. Around 2pm on Sunday, June 15, 2014, J stepped on a used hypodermic needle buried in the sand at Cowell Beach. J rode his bike from his home on the Westside to Cowell’s to meet up with his swimming group. They regularly swim in the ocean, forgoing wetsuits and wearing only bathing suits and swim caps. After he arrived at the beach, J sat down and put on his cap, then stood up to walk to the water. He only made it a few steps before his left foot came down hard on the needle.
A Santa Cruz City lifeguard treated J’s injury by cleaning the wound with alcohol swabs, and J saw his regular physician the next day. J was referred to an infectious disease doctor, who prescribed a series of hepatitis vaccinations for J. The doctor decided against prescribing anti-HIV drugs, stating that the drugs are so potent they would “land J in the hospital.”
Needles in Santa Cruz Update
Take Back Santa Cruz has been working in conjunction with leadership in Santa Cruz City and County to decrease the used hypodermic needles found in our neighborhoods and parks. This […]
Update – Needles in Santa Cruz
Recently the subject of needles in Santa Cruz surged back to the forefront when a father on a stroll to breakfast with his family was stuck in the foot with […]