FOOTSCRAY Connecting people and communities Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook
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Tuesday, 14 January, 2014
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Kris Jansson, Ollie Jansson, 8, and Scout Jannson, 6, with Sun Theatre owner Michael Smith get ready for the pop-up park. 112537
Bit strip
Pop-up parks springing up
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By CHARLENE MACAULAY POP-UP parks are popping up across the municipality. Yarraville’s pop-up park has returned for the third consecutive summer after traders agreed to foot the bill for this year’s installation. A committee of Yarraville businesses, led by Sun Theatre owner Michael Smith, has resurrected the pop-up park and will also deliver a Summer Sun Days program that is set to include live music, book readings, yoga and other family friendly activities. Meanwhile, Maribyrnong City Council has rolled out a series of parklets along Barkly Village.
Easy needle access By CHARLENE MACAULAY NEEDLE vending machines could be coming to Footscray and Braybrook this year as part of a trial to reduce infection rates among intravenous drug users. The Yarra Drug and Health Forum has earmarked the two suburbs, as well as North Richmond and St Kilda, as the first sites for the needle vending machines. The unmarked machines would be used as an extension of existing needle exchange programs and include clean equipment and disposal bins. Yarra Drug and Health Fo-
rum CEO Greg Denham said the machines - which had been used across New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia for the past 20 years - would not be easily accessible by members of the general public. Under the initiative, drug users will have to collect a token from a needle exchange program to use the needle vending machine. “We still have a significant gap after hours of access to needles and syringes,” Mr Denham said. “We often find that after hours, there are a lot of professionals that inject drugs and don’t want to go to needle and
syringe programs, and pharmacies charge for needles. “Often they go back to sharing their equipment, which, we know, is really unsafe. “They’re an unobtrusive device, which is normally either attached to, or part of, a wall and located near a needle syringe centre of community health centre.” Mr Denham wants to see at least one of the needle vending machines brought to Victoria in the next few months. Dr John Sherman, who offers drug substitution programs at Footscray’s Open Family, said only about two or three per
cent of intravenous drug users had contracted HIV, while up to 75 per cent of intravenous heroin users had Hepatitis C. “We’re never going to stop drug use, but we can reduce harm, and the biggest harm, of course, is from overdose, but coming close is blood-borne viruses such as Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B and HIV,” Dr Sherman said. “Anything that can reduce the rate of those infections, I would be most supportive of. “Some article mentioned that (needle vending machines) would encourage drug use well, I can’t see that happening.”
Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles said the council tentatively supported the needle vending machines. “It’s important to note that you have to find the right property to put these vending machines on, which is more than likely the provider of the (needle) exchange program ... they can’t just put them anywhere,” Cr Miles said. Cr Miles said the initiative could save health services valuable time and money, with every dollar spent towards preventing the spread of needleborne diseases equalling an $8 return for the taxpayer.
Parvo virus alarm PAGE 9
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