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Community Drug Outreach
Community Drug Outreach Program
The Drug Outreach Lawyer has established a flexible outreach legal service to drug and alcohol users on a regular basis at a number of locations within the local area. The initiative has enabled St. Kilda Legal Service to reach and engage marginalised and often transient drug users, with complex needs, that would otherwise not access the Service. Therefore, the nature of the legal casework undertaken by the Drug Outreach Lawyer has been more intensive and required a multi-disciplinary approach. The holistic approach taken to legal casework has been essential to the health, treatment and well-being of clients. Positive outcomes in dealing with legal problems, has also resulted in clients entering drug rehabilitation with the support and referral of the Drug Outreach Lawyer. This project aims to reduce legal problems faced by drug users, thus assisting rehabilitation.
The primary objective of the program is to provide legal support to drug users.
To achieve this the program aims to improve:
- reduction in drug related harm by assisting drug users to quickly and effectively resolve their legal issues;
- access and overcome barriers for drug users to legal assistance by providing a flexible outreach legal service;
- community connectedness, health and wellbeing of drug users through timely and supported referrals to appropriate agencies;
- access to existing drug diversion programs through advocacy for inclusion on behalf of drug users;
- effectiveness of support workers to assist their clients with legal issues through provision of training, support and education;
- drug laws, legal policy and other legislation impacting on drug users through advocacy for reform.
Services provided and activities undertaken through this project include:
- accessible legal advice and support to drug & alcohol users;
- legal advice at places where drug users already gather through a flexible outreach model (i.e. emergency accommodation providers, health services, drug & alcohol agencies);
- referrals to appropriate agencies for ongoing support (eg. detoxification, counselling etc);
- advocacy with police and Courts that drug users proceed through diversionary programs instead of conventional justice stream;
- training, education & support for drug & alcohol support workers about supporting their clients through legal issues;
- contributing to debate on drug policy and law reform.
- legal representation at the Street Sex Work list at Melbourne Magistrates' Court, each month;
Drug related legal issues affecting our clients include:
- Child protection
- Civil law (asserting legal rights in relation to work, complaints of discrimination, complainants about police mistreatment);
- Administrative law (challenging unfair decisions made by Government bodies eg. Centrelink, Corrections)
- PERIN (Penalty Enforcement by Registration of Infringement Notices) fines;
- Victims of crime (assisting victims to obtain counselling, support & compensation
- Criminal law (offences associated with drug dependency, advocating for diversionary responses and clients with outstanding warrants, advocating for sentencing outcomes where drug rehabilitation is the priority).
Outreach locations
The Drug Outreach Lawyer has weekly contact through outreach to other agencies in the local area including:
- The Salvation Army Bridge Program
- Sacred Heart Mission
- Hanover Southbank
- Nwgala-Willumbong Co-op. Ltd. (Galliamble)
- The Windana Society
- Inner South Community Health Service (RhED - Hussling to Health)
- Odyssey Southern Youth Services
The Drug Outreach Lawyer also has contact with other local agencies though cross-referral of clients.
Specialist Street Sex Worker List at MMC
The Drug Outreach Program was instrumental in developing the Street Sex Worker list at Melbourne Magistrates' Court. St. Kilda Legal Service has a lawyer present at the Court each month to represent sex workers appearing before the Court. An outreach service to RhED (Resourcing health & Education in the sex industry) on Thursday evenings gives street sex workers an opportunity to consult with a St. Kilda Legal Service lawyer, which increases the likelihood of court attendance.
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