The Vancouver Park Board says the decision to close a temporary homeless warming centre in Olympic Village is unrelated to a toddler picking up a hypodermic needle in the facility's bathroom.

A parent at Creekside Community Centre told CTV News the boy's father was "very shocked and freaked out" after the incident.

"He said his child picked up a syringe and was about to put it into his mouth," Carolina Ellis said.

"The dad was very, very upset about the whole situation and frankly I would be as well if it was my children."

The board said the youngster was found holding the needle but was thankfully not pricked or injured.

"You can imagine it's a very upsetting situation and the health risks associated with a syringe," said General Manager of Parks Malcolm Bromley.

"The parent was quite upset and emotional and our staff did their best to support the father."

The incident happened when the facility was being used as a warming centre for the homeless during the cold snap.

Bromley said the washroom was inspected around 7 or 8 a.m. that day and it was free of drug paraphernalia, but "things can change in a hurry."

He called the incident "isolated" and asked the public not to rush to judgement about the warming centres, which have helped an estimated 2,000 people out of the cold during this winter's unusually frigid temperatures.

Parents who live in the area have been voicing concerns online about what they believe to be a recent increase in drug use in the area after the park board's decision last month to allow homeless people to use the community centre to keep warm.

Evidence of drug use was found around the centre Tuesday morning by crew from CTV Morning Live, including right outside its front doors.

The community centre is no longer being used as a warming centre due to "operational reasons.” Bromley said the decision was made, in part, to consolidate operations, and not because of the needle.

Needles are a common problem across Vancouver. In 2015, more than 250,000 needles were recovered from the ground, according to figures from Vancouver Coastal Health.

Last spring, concerned parents called on the Park Board to install needle disposal boxes after finding piles of needles discarded near a children's playground in the city's West End.

Anyone in the City of Vancouver who finds a needle can call the Mobile Needle Van at 604-657-6561, or email needlevan@phs.ca for rapid needle recovery from any public area.