The Victorian Substance Use Research Forum (VSURF) invites you to attend the August Seminar where Bianca Whiteside (Deakin University and Burnet Institute) will present her work examining public amenity around the North Richmond medically supervised injecting room (MSIR).

To register for either online or in-person attendance, please email: michael.curtis@burnet.edu.au

Abstract: The North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) has a legislated aim to improve public amenity in the surrounding area. Two extensive reviews during its trial tenure have reported no improvement of public amenity in the area around the MSIR. However, there is limited data to support this claim. We aimed to document perceived and actual levels of public amenity in the North Richmond area to address the lack of evidence. This presentation will present the results of 1) a scoping review examining definitions of public amenity used in research examining in the impacts drug consumption room, 2) preliminary results of 24-months of structured observations undertaken local vicinity of the MSIR, and 3) preliminary results of interviews with local residents and traders who have lived and worked in North Richmond to understand their perception of public amenity in North Richmond.

Bio: Bianca Whiteside began her PhD in July 2022 as a recipient of a Deakin Burnet Research Partnership Scholarship. Bianca’s PhD investigates the link between public amenity and drug consumption rooms, with a focus on the North Richmond medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) in Melbourne.