Taking a harm reduction service model from Sydney to Delhi

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Taking a harm reduction service model from
Sydney to Delhi
2
BACKGROUND

• Building partnerships with local NGOs at the
  2001 International Conference on the Reduction of
  Drug Related Harm in New Delhi.
• Providing technical support forming an alliance
  between VIVAIDS (the Victorian Drug User Group)
  and Beyond Appearances the drug user group in
  Delhi.
• 2002 Went to live in India and was employed
  as a Program Consultant for Sahara. This NGO has
  approx. 33 programs throughout India for PWID
  people infected affected by HIV/AIDS. Programs
  include detox, residential rehab, women
  childrens shelter, primary health care, HIV
  respite care/ palliative care IGP. Primarily
  the organisation operates as a peer based
  therapeutic community, with almost all staff
  members having been service consumers.

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THE NEED FOR A CRISIS CARE SHELTER

• Large percentage of people admitted for
  detox/rehab werent necessarily seeking drug
  treatment but needed shelter health care.
• People who had chronic health issues e.g. HIV, at
  times had to exit the residential rehab due to
  drug use.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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BRINGING SYDNEY TO DELHI

• The Foley House model gave us the inspiration as
  to how we could respond to the health social
  needs of people who wanted to continue with their
  drug use, but still needed shelter and
  healthcare.

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The Aims of the Crisis Shelter

• - Provide crisis accommodation
• - Primary health care
• - Nutrition
• - Linkages into other Sahara programs to enable
  them to improve their health overall quality of
  life.

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Establishment of the service

• Wrote funding submission submitted to approx 20
  funding bodies Interest in the concept was
  shown by FHI. After negotiations a 3 yr funding
  grant was obtained.
• The Crisis Care Shelter was established in 2004,
  in the Red Fort area, where the target group
  resided.
• They were in poor health ranging from
  malnutrition, had abscesses, septicaemia were
  also recovering from amputations due to injecting
  related injuries. The service successfully
  provided health care to them as they couldnt
  access the mainstream health system due to the
  associated stigma and discrimination.
• Once they were able to stabilise their health
  some linked into the IGP, some opted for rehab
  and some were admitted into Michaels Care (those
  with acute hep B/ hep E, active TB, AIDS). Many
  returned to their original environment.

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Lessons Learned

• Skill building in sourcing funding.
• Need for management training.
• Training in public health and harm reduction
  models so staff know how to market their
  programs to prospective funding agencies
  underpinned by these principles.
• Need for sister organisation between NGOs in
  Australia and Asia

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Lessons Learned

• Opportunities for grass roots workers to attend
  conferences, not just managers.
• As Australian NGOs going to work with foreign
  NGOs we need to leave behind our own political
  baggage.