Ninety-two confirmed overdose deaths and 199 more suspected deaths have occurred in the province this year as of Aug. 1, according to a report from Saskatchewan’s Coroner. Now, a new project between the University of Regina and AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan (APSS), called Project Reportneedles.ca, was launched on Wednesday, which will aim to change those statistics and lives of people behind them, according to a media release from the University of Regina (U of R). The project will map discarded needles in public places and offer naloxone training and recovery options where there is high needle use. Shiny Mary Varghese, the executive director of APSS, will co-lead the project with Eaton, assistant professor in the U of R’s Faculty of Social Work, which will use geographic information system-based real-time mapping of hotspots through Reportneedles.ca.
