Call for action as heroin street use returns to North Richmond after opening of injection rooms

Councillors and residents are outraged that many drug users are shooting up in parks and alleyways despite the opening of the safe injection room in North Richmond last July.

Street outreach teams were needed to tackle the escalating scourge of public drug use in North Richmond, a Yarra councillor has declared.

Many heroin users were shooting up in parks and alleyways despite the opening of the safe injection room at the North Richmond Community Health last July.

But Socialist councillor Stephen Jolly, who supports the trial of the supervised injecting centre, said more had to be done to counter street use.

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“Just building the safe injection facility and walking away isn’t good enough.

“Yes, it’s saving the lives of users who use it, but only 50 per cent do.’’

The opening of the injection centre has led to the honey-pot effect, luring more heroin addicts to the neighbourhood but many are now not using the centre.

The injection room is based in the North Richmond Community Health building. Picture Andrew Tauber

Cr Jolly said community support for the centre was strong but many felt the streets of North Richmond and South Abbotsford had been abandoned.

“No one should have to live like this — not the locals, not the users.’’

Cr Jolly said some programs in the US that had broken the addiction cycle could be adapted for use in Melbourne.

His calls come before a residents’ meeting tonight at the All Nations Hotel in Richmond.

The popularity of the injection room is one of the reasons that users are shunning the centre and reverting to injecting in the street and other public areas.

Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly says residents and users deserve better. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Resident Judy Ryan says the injection centre is working but more now needs to be done. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Judy Ryan, spokeswoman for residents’ group Victoria St Drug Solutions, said the streets were quiet for the first few months after the injection room opened but public injecting and discarded syringes had recently returned to the streets.

“The safe injection facility has been a victim of its own success,’’ Ms Ryan said.

“This shows the need for more centres to be established in other locations. At the moment, Richmond is taking one for the whole team.’’

Ms Ryan said the centre, which has converted a communal room for 11 injection booths, needed to stay open later instead of closing at 7pm weekdays and 5pm on weekends.

An extension to the North Richmond Community Health building will open mid-year and house the injection centre with 20 booths.

About 250 people inject at the centre every day and latest Department of Health figures from February showed that 650 overdoses had been managed safely.

@IanRoyall

Originally published as Call for action as heroin street use returns to North Richmond after opening of injection rooms