I’m not a regular NPR listener, so I missed the original discussion of it on Where We Live, but SeeClickFix looks like an effective tool that community members can use to report various quality of life issues. In Hartford we have 311, which has been helpful to some, mainly for addressing pot holes, but I have had little luck with it. Here is another example to add to the pile.

I’ve been finding discarded needles (I’m assuming they were used to inject heroin) around Hartford. In fact, I even made a map showing the location of these:


View Needle Tracking in a larger map
The first one I’d seen in a few years was on the sidewalk along Park Terrace by the Latino Studies Academy at Burns. A needle on school property is not good. What neighbors tell me is that people go across the street into the unkempt area of the park to shoot up. I don’t imagine people are so brazen as to do this on school grounds, especially as this is a high-traffic, high-visibility area. Regardless of where the injection is happening, a needle in an area where children walk is a needle that children are at risk of stepping on.

On the morning of June 24th I found a capped needle on the Capitol Avenue sidewalk. This was right next to a street light in front of a building.

Discovered on 7/28 an abandoned needle in what is supposedly a monitored, secure lot for Capital Community College. The parking attendant agreed to call someone to have this removed when I brought it to her attention. When I returned at the end of my shift, it was still there. On 7/29, I took a picture of it and sent it to the college’s head of public safety. He responded appropriately and it was removed. However, when I returned to the lot later that afternoon, I saw a different needle in the middle of Capital Community College parking lot. Because this has a bright orange cap and the other did not, and given the difference in location, I’m sure this was a newly disposed needle. This is particularly troubling because it was, again, used and discarded in broad daylight while an attendant was on duty in what is a relatively small parking lot. When I spoke to the head of security at the college, he informed me that there actually are not security personnel in the lot during the summer, just student workers. He was appropriately concerned and indicated that drug use had previously been a problem at this lot which is located under the highway and is now used for part-time employees and visitors of the college. Hopefully this year’s budget will allow for real security whenever the parking lot is open.

Crossing Park Terrace along Capitol Avenue on the morning of August 9th I saw an uncapped needle. It was in the street, so it’s possible that the cap broke off when run over by traffic. It was never removed. Over following weeks, I noticed the needle pushed further across the intersection by traffic.

On the morning of August 11th, I saw an orange-capped needle in Bushnell Park in front of PortaPotty right by the bike path.
needlebybushnell
When I walked by a few hours later, it remained in the area, but a few feet away, more prominently displayed on the sidewalk. Across the field I watched a woman walk barefoot. It felt like watching a horror movie in which the audience is telling the characters not to go into the dark basement. Disaster waiting to happen.

At this point, I decided to contact someone. But who takes care of hazardous medical waste? I don’t even know. I contacted 311 via email, and then I sent an email to a member of the Hartford Police Department. I figured someone would respond. I heard back from the HPD first, who was apologetic for his delayed response. He suggested that Health and Human Services be contacted. I still have not gained an email response from 311, who I contacted on August 13th, and again August 31st. Fortunately, I have not encountered any needles since.

Following the advice of the Hartford Police Department, I placed a call to the Department of Health and Human Services. Though my call kept getting rerouted, I did have an answer in five minutes. Sort of. The second person I spoke to had “no idea” about who might be responsible for picking up hazardous items. Surely I could not have been the first person to have ever inquired about this. Eventually, it was determined that the number to call to report this was 757-9311. Wait, what? My call was sent backwards from a specific location to the 311 call center. Since my question at this point was an in general inquiry, rather than about an immediate matter, I have no way to know what would have happened next. The 311 staff was polite and attempted to be helpful, but I can’t help but feel a lack of faith in a system where nobody I speak with seems to have answers. Other than hollerin’ at someone when I see him drop his litter, it seems like there is nothing I can do, and since I lack health insurance, picking up and disposing the needles myself is entirely out of the question.

So, SeeClickFix is decidedly excellent for being a public, interactive venue where the community can actually see who else is noticing problems around their neighborhoods. This is what it looks like:

If you click on the tags, you can get more information. Anyone can post about the issues that she has been observing. You can “agree” with others about problems. The creators of this site are from New Haven and have this to say about SeeClickFix:

we believe that by providing tools to local citizens and organizations, we can help make it a little bit easier to improve your community. SeeClickFix won’t be the ones identifying or fixing the issues. We won’t magically make your neighborhood nicer, safer or what ever else you want it to be. Our website gives you another tool – a bit of technology – that you can use to collaborate, to hold people accountable and to help get the work done.

It’s not a silver bullet, but people are using it as another way to draw attention to issues and as they say, hold people accountable. If you listen to the WWL piece (the segment on SeeClickFix is later in the broadcast) you can find out how to get government officials to pay attention to the complaints. I’m hoping that the Hartford City Council is already noting the capacity of new media tools to aid in communication with their constituents.