Melbourne’s Richmond injecting room: Single photo of addict clutching a syringes= sparks uproar

A disturbing photo shows a drug addict sprawled in a gutter with a syringe in hand, not far from a medically supervised injection center in Melbourne, as a local campaigner claims nearby streets have turned into a ‘ghetto’.

The community of Richmond, in Melbourne’s CBD, has long protested the location of a medically controlled injection room (MSIR) next to Richmond West Primary School, which is being trialled for five years.

However, tensions with the Victorian government have come to a head with a proposal to turn the center into a permanent facility to be debated in Parliament on Thursday.

Residents claim drug users are attracted to the area and — while authorities claim the center prevents overdose deaths — some addicts continue to hang around the facility because of a legal loophole that allows drug-related arrests within 300 yards of the facility. room prevents.

The shocking photo of the man in the gutter in North Richmond, who had apparently overdosed, surfaced Thursday, prompting locals to say, “Our community deserves better.”

It’s because further footage shared by local residents showed “meth and heroin zombies” huddled in parks, syringes thrown in the middle of sidewalks and children as young as six walking past addicts.

The injection room, which opened in 2018, is designed to help prevent overdose deaths by allowing users to inject drugs in a safe place where they can seek immediate medical attention.

Sharon Neven, 58, who has been employed for 23 years, told Daily Mail Australia the room has devastated the local community – and argues that the center should be set up in a more urban area as a similar facility is located in Kings Cross Sydney is located rather close to residents.

“There are people who inject publicly in our children’s parks. There are people who inject in front of us,” she said.

“Kids still have to walk to and from school, so they have to walk past this behavior — people naked, people running around with their tops off.

“Our cars, our homes have been broken into. The police do nothing. The drug dealers win.

“The fact (the room) is outside our maternal health clinic, our health clinic and next to an elementary school, I have a problem with that.”

Mrs. Neven told ABC 7:30 pm Elias Clure The area – long known as a haven for drug users even before the center was established – has been transformed.

“This was a very popular street for people all over Melbourne to eat Vietnamese food, but now it’s just turned into a slum,” she said.

“We had a nice wine bar there and it’s just become a ghetto.”

Mr. Clure asked, “Don’t you think it’s a little strong, that language?”

Mrs. Neven shot back: “No, I won’t, because there are drug dealers in front of Aldi all day, every day.’

In an open letter to Victorian MPs, residents said: “When it comes to the supervised injection room, you have sadly failed our community at every opportunity”.

“We had no warning that the MSIR trial would be aborted, and barely days in advance that the final decision to make it permanent would be this week,” the letter read. Announce sunis reading.

“Only a handful of you, who will soon be voting on what our children’s future looks like, have bothered to talk to us.

“This cabinet has made it clear that it treats drug addicts with more respect than residents.”

The letter also highlights how the injection site has put emergency services under pressure with ambulance calls in the area up 101 percent since opening.

“You can’t say our children aren’t at risk if you have to install security fences, cameras and constant guards at the gates so they can go to school every day,” it read.

“How can you ignore our school board’s plea after the safety audit found a probable and foreseeable risk of catastrophic damage?

“We have seen more bodies on the street since the chamber opened than ever before.

“This trial has not been a success in any way that balances the impact on the community.”

Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews announced the findings of an independent inquiry in early March and expressed support for a permanent injection facility.

“While there are still challenges – and the report talks about safety as well as facilities and making further improvements, further envelopment services – it is very clear that this facility has changed lives and saved lives,” he said.

“Stories of people dying in back alleys and gutters, stories of literally dead bodies in that local community (before the room opened) meant we had to do something different, something challenging.”

He claimed the room is Melbourne’s solution to a growing drug problem, with users accessing mental health services, drug treatment and on-site blood testing.

In their letter, residents implored MPs to reflect on the damage the room in its current location is doing to their community.

“All our community has ever wanted is to work with the government to find a solution that properly balances the safety and well-being of residents and those using supervised injection facilities,” the letter reads.

“When this is about harm reduction, our community asks that you vote in a way that takes into account the very real and current harms we and our children face every day that this room continues to operate where it is.”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted North Richmond Community Health and the Victoria Department of Education for comment.