BOSTON (AP) — Students at an elementary school in Roxbury are protesting the dirty syringes being discarded around their school grounds.
The Boston Globe reports that the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School is located near several treatment facilities and needle exchange outlets. Students and parents held a protest Tuesday. They say students should be safe in school.
City officials insist they are trying to keep the area clean of discarded syringes, but note that clean needle distribution is a key part of addiction outreach.
School nurse Sue Burchill says discarded needles are so prevalent that students have been taught what to do when they encounter them: "Stop, turn, and tell."
There was a similar protest last year.
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