Crime & Safety
Crew Picks Up 1,000 Used Needles A Day From Boston Streets
Boston City Councilor John FitzGerald says the city needs to take a more forceful approach to making all of Boston's communities safer.
Updated on: July 30, 2025
Cleaning up Boston's neighborhood of used hypodermic needles is both personal and purposeful William Smith or "Smitty" as he goes by.
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"I was once one of them. On average a crew we probably pull 1,000 needles in a day," Smitty said.
He's part of a drug addiction recovery program group called Homeless Back2Work, supported by the Newmarket Business Improvement District. Working with the city's 311 system, they stop at nothing to make sure neighborhoods are clear of needles from Nubian Square to Ramsey Park to the South End. "I am finding needles more than garbage," Smitty said.
Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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