By Alesha Capone - Star Hume 31/05/2011
More than 148,000 syringes have been provided to drug-users across the past six months, by a nightly outreach service in the north-west.
The not-for-profit organisation Youth Projects runs the North West Outreach Service (NWOS), a van offering a "mobile syringe exchange" every evening.
The vehicle travels across the north-west to places including Attwood, Broadmeadows, Campbellfield, Coolaroo, Gladstone Park, Glenroy, Hadfield, Strathmore Heights, Tullamarine and West Meadows, offering clean injecting equipment, education and referrals.
In addition to providing 148,120 clean needles and syringes from 1 November 2010-30 April this year, the service has collected more than 51,000 used or dirty needles.
Within the period, the NWOS team has also provided almost 2000 people with education and referrals on several issues.
More than 460 people requested advice on safe sex, while 184 were referred onto other needle and syringe programs, 74 wanted assistance with "safe using" and 47 needed help with drug and alcohol matters.
The Youth Projects chairperson Melanie Raymond said "very few" of their clients were actually teenagers.
"Injecting drug users typically are in their late twenties, thirties and older," she said.
"Our team is very busy day and night offering a unique service. It is so much more than needles and syringes. Our approach is about harm prevention and education, which has proven successful for many years.
"It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to never share or re-use a syringe. The risk of catching Hepatitis C is very high and there is no cure. It can lead to serious liver damage and cancer."
Ms Raymond also said safely disposing of syringes was vital.
"We can't know what will happen after a syringe is discarded. They could be a hazard for sanitation workers and still could be re-used if discovered," she said.
Ms Raymond said syringes needed to be disposed of in an approved disposal container or a hard plastic container with a lid.
She advised anyone who came across dumped syringes to contact their council or an approved needle and syringe collection program. Youth Projects also provides clean injecting equipment from a fixed site in Glenroy. Contact 9304 9100 for more information or to contact the NWOS call 1800 170 556.
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