NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE WHEN HELPING OTHERS

Rebecca Moore has walked a mile in the shoes of most people who come
through the doors of The First Step, a heroin detoxification clinic in St
Kilda.

Before becoming a patient at the clinic she had used heroin for seven of
her 26 years, failing in previous attempts to get off the drug.

Three months ago she was the first person to undergo the clinic's rapid
detoxification process and is now giving hope to others.

"You do have a kind of street credibility that non-users don't," said Ms
Moore, a volunteer carer at the clinic. "Some users can be sceptical about
people who have never been through it (detoxification) but it is also good
to know there are members of the public who care."

The First Step Clinic has been inundated since it opened in Carlisle
Street, St Kilda, in July.

Set up with a donation from Melbourne businessman Peter White, whose
daughter travelled to Perth for similar treatment last year, the clinic now
has a six-week waiting list.

Manager Zoe Wainer said the not-for-profit clinic was in desperate need of
more volunteer carers, nurses and administrative staff to cope with the demand.

The First Step is one of the services in the municipality of Port Phillip,
which last month committed to a three-year drug action policy.

While the council doesn't have a direct role in the clinic's operation,
Mayor Julian Hill said councils can make a vital contribution in linking
the range of services together.

"We have met with The First Step and we can now link them into the service
map," he said.

Cr Hill was not surprised to hear of the clinic's long waiting list and
said the demand was an indication that the area needed adequate funding.

"We want to see the money flow through to our area, which is an area that
traditionally responds to these problems," he said.