The photo, taken last Tuesday by Michelle McGregor while her son was at baseball practice, shocked many who saw it.

It shows syringes and credit and bank cards strewn about the floor of a public bathroom at City Park.

鈥淎nother mom mentioned that she couldn鈥檛 use the bathroom because it was like a crime scene,鈥� McGregor related.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 believe how bad (it was) so she showed me.鈥�

鈥淚t was really bad,鈥� McGregor shared, adding that the photo doesn鈥檛 represent what it looked like inside the washroom.

She said there was broken glass and dirty clothes on the floor, and clothes in the garbage can and hanging on the bathroom doors. According to McGregor, the fan was ripped down from the ceiling, the toilets were full of garbage, and there were needles and 鈥渟pots of blood.鈥�

鈥淭hen the part in the picture 鈥� the wallet, credit cards needles etc.,鈥� McGregor said.

鈥淚t just had a weird feeling. Like a crime scene鈥� the boys鈥� bathroom next door was clean.鈥�

Siblings of the baseball players were playing around the bathroom and one tried to open the door.

鈥淚 was worried someone would get hurt,鈥� McGregor said.

鈥淚 called the City and was given the number to the fire department. They took my info and were going to come and clean it up.鈥�

McGregor said the bathroom 鈥渨as shocking to see and definitely disturbing that something like this would be at a park.鈥�

鈥淚 was very worried that a child could go in there,鈥� McGregor said.

She is not sure what the solution to the problem might be, but suggested more monitoring of the facilities.

鈥淚t is definitely nice to be able to use a bathroom when you are at the ball field for hours,鈥� McGregor said. 鈥淭he other parents at the field did mentioned that they had never seen the bathroom like that before.鈥�

Mayor frustrated

91原创 City mayor Ted Schaffer said he was upset about the situation, noting there are individuals in society who don鈥檛 value themselves, let alone public and private property.

City and contract staff 鈥渢ry extremely hard鈥� to keep facilities clean, Schaffer noted.

The mayor said the provincial and federal governments need to help B.C. communities combat drugs, crime, and homelessness 鈥� and all the issues connected with them, such as vandalism.

鈥淚 believe the issues are there, the issues aren鈥檛 ever going to go away, but we try very hard to make things better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e said it a hundred times, that there are so many layers out there in society, right now. It鈥檚 extremely hard for local government to work on it by itself.鈥�

The City has been forced to close down some of its public washroom facilities because, Schaffer said, 鈥渢hey鈥檝e been totally destroyed.鈥�

鈥淲e have one of the washrooms closed off right now with huge big concrete blocks so individuals can鈥檛 get into it, they鈥檝e destroyed it so badly,鈥� Schaffer said.

Shared on Facebook

The photo was texted to Christie Stashyn and she promptly posted it on Facebook as a warning to other parents.

鈥淭his is from the bathroom at City Park here in 91原创. Do not let your children go into these bathrooms alone 鈥� in fact, maybe they should be locked indefinitely.鈥�

Stashyn鈥檚 Facebook post continued, 鈥淢y three-year-old is curious and I guarantee she would have picked up that syringe on the floor. Disgusting. The province and the country need to get involved with this growing issue on the Lower Mainland, which has spread like a disease from the Downtown East Side and now into almost every surrounding suburb. Please share this picture as a precautionary tale for parents with small children.鈥�

The photo encapsulates, in Stashyn鈥檚 opinion, the growing problem of homelessness and drug addiction in 91原创 City.

She related a recent incident in which her brother-in-law left a downtown restaurant because his eight-year-old daughter had walked in on a person who was apparently 鈥榮hooting up鈥� in the bathroom.

鈥淚鈥檝e lived in 91原创 for 12 years (and) I鈥檝e seen a huge decline,鈥� Stashyn said. 鈥淭his is the first time it really hit home, when I saw that picture. People talk about it and we hear anecdotal stuff, but I had personally never seen a needle or had come across anything.鈥�

Stashyn said the RCMP and City staff are doing what they can to combat the problem but 鈥渋t鈥檚 very reactive.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e just really reacting to a problem,鈥� Stashyn said. 鈥淭he provincial and federal governments need to be held accountable.

It鈥檚 archaic (that) we don鈥檛 have a better mental health system, and for some reason there鈥檚 a stigma around mental health, like it (mental illness) is a choice. It doesn鈥檛 work that way. It鈥檚 like every other organ that malfunctions in your body.鈥�

She said RCMP resources are being routed from crime prevention to mental health issues.

鈥淚t鈥檚 time for the provincial government to start putting appropriate resources towards mental health and addiction,鈥� she said, adding, 鈥渨e should provide transient housing on these people.

鈥淭hey have an addiction and that is where their money is going 鈥� give these people shelter regardless if they can鈥檛 pay for it. Let housing work for transient people rather than make them work in a system that they are not capable of working with.鈥�

troy.landreville@blackpress.ca
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