Same Equipment, Different Reasons: NSP Shortages Explained
You can’t open a news site or social media app without hearing about peptides these days. But what is usually missing from the surreal AI ads pasted all over Instagram is the very real impact the rise in peptide use is having on people who inject drugs.
In the last year, demand for injecting equipment on Australian needle and syringe programs (NSPs) grew by nearly 10 million units.
This increase is driven largely by a surge in performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs) like peptides.
Services are stretched thin but funding hasn't changed to meet demand, and the people at highest risk of hepatitis C and HIV are feeling the effects first.
User’s News spoke to NUAA's acting Harm Reduction Manager Tim Powell about what's happening, what's changed at our own postal NSP, and the importance of access to equipment for all, no matter the substance they're using.
The Little Fish That Could: A Harm Reduction Story
Over the years, the humble fish-shaped soy sauce bottle has become synonymous with the use of GHB, and became an unlikely harm reduction hero. What are the implications for our community when governments ban single-use plastics such as these?
Some minor changes at Crown St NSP
The NSP (needle exchange) at 345 Crown St, Surry Hills is run by NUAA, the organisation that publishes Users News. There are some minor changes happening at the NSP.
The hustle never stops: Eliminating hep C in Australia
Users News provides an update on how NUAA is helping to eliminate hepatitis C in Australia.
Kiah’s story: From DIY harm reduction in Newcastle to speaking in front of academics, doctors and nurses
Hepatitis C peer worker Kiah Glasson shares her story with Users News and gives the low down on all things hep C.
Why do we need Needle and Syringe Programs in Australian prisons?
Reflections on the missing piece in the hepatitis C elimination puzzle: the supply of clean sterile injecting equipment in Australian correctional centres.
Carla’s story: I beat hep C and now I’m helping others
Carla is a peer worker at a Needle and Syringe Program and in the hep C testing and treatment space. She tells how she uses her lived experience helps her help others to access the health care they need.
Peers On Wheels: the new van that is revolutionising hep C healthcare | Interview with MJ
Peers On Wheels (POW) is a new pilot project NUAA has launched. The project delivers mobile peer-led testing and treatment services for hepatitis C (hep C). POW is friendly, confidential, quick and easy. POW is visiting a bunch of places in NSW over the coming months. To help spread the word to peers, we interviewed MJ, the project’s Coordinator.
Everyday Superheroes: Peers at Work
“Peer Worker” is an emerging role in the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) space in NSW. Not only has research shown how valuable peer education and support is, services using peer workers see the difference every day as more consumers come through their doors to have more respectful and relevant interactions.
It’s the season for change - growing, adapting, changing with grace
Bridie and Pandora are two older women who share some of their changes — the things they have learnt — from the practical to the philosophical