FIGHTING THE UNDERGROUND WAR AGAINST DRUGS

In the war against heroin, the Elizabeth Street toilet attendant, Mr Jack
Fisher, is at the frontline. Confronted with addicts shooting up and
passing out, Mr Fisher, 44, must regularly don the mask of social worker.

He breaks into cubicles with a screwdriver to reach unconscious addicts,
calls the ambulance up to three times a day, defuses stand-offs with
violent users, counsels others, and undergoes blood tests for a
needle-pricked finger. And he cleans toilet bowls.

"I realise I'm like a social worker. In a way, I do get some enjoyment out
of it. I feel I am putting in," he says.

"The blokes who I help out - I have a good harsh word with them. A few of
them won't come back. Maybe they won't turn back, maybe it's a turning point."

On the issue of injecting rooms he urges the Government "to get a move on
and do something about it".

"This is a problem they have to look after. They can't solve it.

"I have had this man (overdose) here four times. He needs counselling, he
needs help. He's tried to kill himself and you're just walking away ... the
ambulance officers say, there's nothing we can do," he says.

Mr Fisher has to deal with about four overdoses a week, and sometimes as
many as three a day. After being in the job six months, he knows what to do.

"I open the toilet door up with a screwdriver. You can tell when they're no
longer in control, their limbs are all gone, they're on the floor. I pull
them out of the cubicle, get 'em out, call the ambulance. They tell me to
put him on the side, pull his neck back, see if he's breathing," he says.

He jokes that the ambulance staff want to make him an honorary member.
"They wanted to give me equipment to look after the druggies," he says.

"They just give them an injection and that sorts them out." Mr Fisher, a
former tram conductor, says he does what he can to get the addicts out of
the toilets. They're pretty easy to spot.

"I keep an eye on them and say, come on boys, come on, get up, you've been
there long enough. When you see three pairs (of feet) in there you know
that they're shooting up," he says.

Occasionally they will get violent. "A bloke will come in looking perfectly
sober then after he shoots up he gets hyper. If I think I can't handle the
situation, I call the cops (but) it's very rare that I call. I don't
respond to violence, I try to be calm," he says. "After they've shot up
they just want to be left alone. You can't tell them what to do or (tell
them to) clean up their mess."