You Talk, We Die by Judy Ryan

Author:Judy Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIO010000, POL028000, POL017000, POL019000, SOC072000, POL029000, SOC057000, POL002000
Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Published: 2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

14

Milestone

MAY–JUNE 2018

The first meeting of the local reference group for the MSIR was held on 3 May. Chaired by the parliamentary secretary for health Gabrielle Williams, the purpose of this forum was threefold:

to keep the community informed on the establishment of the MSIR

to seek community feedback regarding the ongoing operation of the MSIR

to identify, discuss, and address any impacts of the MSIR on the local community.

Appointed by the minister, membership consisted of representatives from RVSDS, the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, the Victoria Street Business Association, the local public-housing estate, community groups, Abbotsford Primary School, Richmond West Primary School, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, the City of Yarra, Harm Reduction Victoria, NRCH, a local pharmacy, and DHHS. Three key issues raised at the first meeting were improved DHHS communication, the hours of the MSIR’s operation, and the recruitment of staff, including a medical director.

I booked an Uber ride in mid-May with a driver who lived in Lennox Street near the NRCH. I asked his views about the MSIR trial: ‘I totally support it, as do all my neighbours,’ he said. ‘We are concerned about the health of drug users.’

While his view was encouraging, RVSDS met to discuss the paucity of accurate information — and the resulting misinformation — regarding the opening of the MSIR in June. We decided that a local doorknocking exercise over the three weekends prior to the MSIR opening would help fill the void. Supported by Colin, Liz, Pat, Greg, Frank and Dianne, Michelle Zwagerman developed a comprehensive community-outreach plan that covered the key neighbourhoods surrounding the MSIR. Donning our purple T-shirts with the orange tick, they were armed with updated materials that included the following statement:

We care that our community is informed. In order to keep our neighbourhood up to date with factual information and evidence around how existing MSICs operate, we are doorknocking and distributing flyers in the immediate area around the North Richmond Community Health centre, the location of MSIR trial.

A debrief on 19 May confirmed that the first weekend’s doorknocking exercise had been successful, with residents appreciating a personal conversation about ‘all things MSIR’. Questions were answered and issues clarified. The second doorknocking weekend, on 26 May, included new community volunteers Mike, Fiona, and Tanya, who were keen to assist. A third doorknocking weekend was held in early June.

A highlight of the month was the official advice from Martin Foley’s office that addiction-medicine physician Dr Nico Clark had been appointed medical director of the MSIR. Nico had previously worked for ten years in the management of substance abuse as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. He had been the clinical director of AOD services in South Australia, head of addiction medicine at Southern Health in Melbourne, and head of the WHO Collaborating Centre at the University of Adelaide. His research focused on treatments for heroin, alcohol, and stimulant dependence. Ministerial adviser Trystyn Bowe invited me to meet Nico on 21 May, along with NRCH CEO Demos Krouskos and Kasey Elmore, who would be taking on the role of MSIR operations manager.

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