A needle exchange service which lost its contract to supply free clean needles after decades in the sector is not backing down. Instead it has decided to expand beyond its original premise. Rodger Wright Harm Reduction Network, formerly Disc Trust, lost its South Island-wide contract to be the key needle exchange provider to the Te Waipounamu Collective in October last year. The network says the new collective’s needle exchange service does not offer the broader range of harm reduction previously available. Rodger Wright Harm Reduction Network executive director Philippa Jones said the network had always been “not just a needle exchange service”, with the employment of a general practitioner and its emphasis on peer support since it began 37 years ago. But now, in response to losing the needle contract, it was getting involved into more specific community work — even if it sometimes had to delve into its pockets to do so. The network no longer receives clean needles for free after losing the contract. However, it had recently received a small grant from the Dunedin City Council to keep its GP and nursing services. “We’re actually catching up with the DCC shortly, because they’ve got their homeless outreach. “And some of those folks might also be our clients.” The network had also expanded its Hepatitis C outreach programme in Invercargill and Cromwell, as well as operating mobile equipment across the country. They were also successful in gaining contracts for HIV and sexually-transmitted infection testing. People could also visit one of the network’s base sites and get drugs tested — no questions asked. © Allied MediaNew premises for Rodger Wright Harm Reduction Network, formerly Disc Trust, in an old bus depot in Princes St, Dunedin. Photo: Gregor Richardson As part of the shake-up, the network has moved from their South Dunedin premises to a former bus depot in Princes St. Ms Jones assumed at least half of the network’s clients, which were expected to go to the new provider, have since reverted to Rodger Wright due to dissatisfaction. “The [rival collective] don’t have these other harm reduction services. “Whereas we have a range of harm reduction services, and that’s what we think sets us apart.” The increase in services led to the rebrand to the Rodger Wright Harm Reduction Network, Ms Jones said. Rodger Wright was an advocate who co-ordinated the South Island IV League in 1985 to tackle the growing Aids epidemic among intravenous drug users. He also championed the idea of needle exchanges and harm reduction, and served on the national Aids council during the late 1980s. “So I suppose that’s sort of what distinguishes us and partly why we rebranded to use the term ‘harm reduction’, because we do more than just needle exchange.”
