CALL TO USE WESLEY HEROIN COMPLEX

Wesley Central Mission's $500,000 heroin injecting complex, idle since
residents and the State Opposition refused to back a "shooting gallery" for
Victoria, is being touted as a drug support centre.

The push follows preliminary talks aimed at turning the complex, on Little
Lonsdale Street, into a "primary health-care facility".

The Youth Substance Abuse Service raised the idea with Wesley and the
Melbourne City Council. The youth service's head, David Murray, believes
the complex - built by Wesley in the hope of having the state's first
supervised injecting centre - is the "obvious place" for a drug
counselling, health and housing referral service.

"It is the perfect location for us to provide outreach services, a space
for users to come and get help," he said. "It is not intended to be a
quasi-safe injecting facility."

Mr Murray, whose service helps drug users aged under 21, said the
government and the Melbourne council had indicated general support for a
centre in the central business district, though not at a particular site.
Concerns by residents who mounted fierce opposition when the idea of an
injecting room was raised last year could be overcome once the concept was
explained, he said.

"No planning permit is required," Mr Murray said. "If push came to shove,
there'd be no legal way you could stop it."

The youth service put the idea to Wesley's acting chief execuive, Judy
Leitch, but no decision had been made. "Wesley has indicated that we are
happy to receive proposals for the site," Ms Leitch said. "But we're not in
a position to make a decision at this stage."

Apart from a few meetings, Wesley's drug complex has been mothballed since
the government dropped plans for a supervised injecting room last year.
Most drug agencies agreed that a primary health-care centre would help save
lives.

"It is needed," Baptist minister Tim Costello said yesterday. "Nearly all
services provided by welfare agencies have moved out of the city. What is
being proposed is a far cry from an injecting room; same target group,
different use."

Mr Murray said that while neither the youth service nor any other agency
had the money to build a health-care centre, they could use the Wesley site
and run it with help from a drug grant of $500,000 the State Government has
provided to the Melbourne City Council.

A spokeswoman for the council said yesterday the money could not be spent
until it was considered by the council that will be elected on Friday. The
present council had ruled out Wesley as a site for a primary health centre.

Mark Young, director of Youth Projects, which runs the drug foot patrol,
said a central facility was needed to provide help to users, many of whom
were young, homeless and without family or other support. While the heroin
overdose death toll for this year is 27 - dramatically down on recent years
- - the Youth Substance Abuse Service's CBD case load has risen from 130 in
the first three months of the year to 160.

According to Open Family's chief executive, Nathan Stirling, more than one
site is needed. Despite the recent heroin drought, his service, which
targets young people, was seeing more users, mostly from poor or
"dysfunctional" families.