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Inquiry into Supply and Use of Methamphetamines

Received from the Legislative Assembly on the 3rd of September 2013

–Submission by Youth Projects Ltd

View From the Front line: Youth Projects

METH NOW THE “DRUG OF CHOICE” “Current Youth Projects primary data, in particular, data pertaining to client usage in the north and

western regions of Melbourne, suggest that the recreational and long-term use of

methamphetamines is a growing concern for those who seek assistance”.

October 2013

YOUTH PROJECTS LTD

A charity established in 1984.

6b Hartington St Glenroy VIC 3046 ABN 91566009857

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View From the Front line: Youth Projects

Introduction Youth Projects is an independent, not for profit organisation established in 1984 in order to

respond to the rising youth unemployment and entrenched disadvantage in the north of

Melbourne.

This community-based service is run by and for this community and sits within the heart of an area

of entrenched and complex socio-economic disadvantage. Based “in situ” in an area of high levels of

illegal drug use, crime and poverty, our service has never been more relevant or important in the

delivery of place-based, front line responses.

Youth Projects is one of Melbourne’s longest serving needle syringe and alcohol and drug

counselling services with specialist expertise in outreach services in over 40 suburbs, the Melbourne

CBD and new growth corridors in the north and west.

It is a one-stop hub of integrated health, employment, training and education services that

streamlines support and referral pathways for young people.

With over 100 staff we work at the very front line community alcohol and drug and mental health

problems, in mobile outreach every day and night of the year.

Youth Projects is committed to evidence- based practice and as such is constantly reviewing its

practice and treatment support methods around any such evidence.

Youth Projects is not, however, a think tank or research body. We work at the grass roots level

engaging and supporting clients, so we do not have the capacity to address all terms of reference,.

We will, therefore, address only those terms of reference to which we have experience.

METH NOW THE “DRUG OF CHOICE”

Current Youth Projects primary data, in particular, data pertaining to client usage in the north and

western regions of Melbourne, suggest that the recreational and long-term use of

methamphetamines is a growing concern for those who seek assistance.

Even when assistance is related to alcohol, methamphetamines will often feature alongside.

Given the severity of problems and the scale of reported use, Youth Projects is engaging in informed

community based collaborative projects including forums and referral partnerships aimed at

targeting the unique aspects of methamphetamine use in the north of Melbourne.

1. Examine the channels of supply of methamphetamine including direct importation

and local manufacture of final product and raw constituent chemical precursors

and ingredients;

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The above reference cannot be fully explored due to it being outside our data set.

2. Examine the supply and distribution of methamphetamine and links to organised

crime organisations including outlaw motorcycle gangs;

3.

The above reference cannot be fully explored due to it being outside our data set.

However anecdotally our experienced AOD counsellors report that:

meth on the streets is flowing freely in in the northern suburbs and is considered “cheap”.

Whereas young clients in the past used cannabis only, meth is being used at a younger age,

including those in high school

the existence of illegal drug labs in the north is contributing to the supply of meth to our

clients

the rising incidence of “gang wars, shoot outs and prevalence of weapons including guns, is

more marked than ever before in this community

In 2011, the spate of shootings in the Glenroy area caused us to pull our street outreach

teams out of the area due to safety concerns. This has never happened before.

It is worth considering the environment in which responses to meth use will be delivered by

the sector and the potential for “spill over” into the client services area, degree of difficulty

and risk undertaken by front line services.

The aggression and violence associated with methamphetamine has already influenced our

service profile and planning. For those at the very pointy end of service delivery, such as

Youth Projects, this issue is of genuine concern.

4. Examine the nature, prevalence and culture of methamphetamine use in Victoria,

particularly amongst young people, indigenous people and those who live in rural

areas;

As noted, Youth Projects interacts with a broad range of clients from a broad range of socio-

economic and geographic areas within our integrated and diverse services. This includes job

search and placement, forensic mental health and AOD counselling, apprenticeships,

training, drink, drug drive assessments, and free and a medical clinic

However, despite the program area, it appears that methamphetamine is the most

prevalent drug of choice amongst young people who are accessing Youth Project’s programs

and services, of whom most reside in the outer northern suburbs of Glenroy,

Broadmeadows, Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Coolaroo, Meadow Heights and Briar Hill.

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Figure 1 Grass roots drug safety & health promotion in the heart of the Melbourne CBD

To highlight, of the 438 clients who accessed Youth Projects integrated drug and alcohol

counselling outreach service (Youth Northern Outreach Team, aka YNOT) in 2012-2013,

39.50 per cent reported methamphetamines, in particular ‘ICE’ as their drug of choice.

Furthermore, 70.32 per cent were aged between 15 and 29 of which two thirds were male.

YNOT data, therefore indicates that methamphetamine is a certainly a problematic issue

experienced by youth in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. Equally, these data

reinforce the assertion and back-up local studies that illegal drug consumption has become a

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recreational pursuit for many young people, in particular young men (Wilson & Wilson 2010,

p.48).

Additionally, to further highlight the scale of reported use, it was found that in the month of

September 2013, 41.41 per cent of clients who accessed the North West Outreach Service

(NWOS) reported using methamphetamines. Again, this data does not indicate whether

client methamphetamine use is long-term or recreational, however it does suggest that

methamphetamine use is common amongst those who are seeking drug and alcohol

counselling services.

Additionally, Youth Projects in Glenroy offer a drink driving education course and assessment

program complemented with a drug driving assessment component for referral onto

education.

METH AND MOTOR VEHICLES

Methamphetamine involvement is not uncommon in cases presented to assessment

program whereby operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs results in a

drug drive offence. Methamphetamine use is the most common drug when a client is

involved in the assessment process for education. In correlation with Youth Projects

findings, preliminary research conducted by Wilson and Wilson in 2010, looked at sample of

Melbourne drug-users perceptions of drug driving. The sample group of drug users aged

between 18 and 24, participated in interviews and self-reported surveys to conclude

methamphetamines were the main drug of choice used when drug driving took place.

Moreover, it was found that cars are an important means of freedom for youth, particularly

where to access to public transport is limited. Furthermore, cars offer a safe and private

space for youth to consume drugs, as well as facilitating the purchase and preparation of

drugs in some cases (Wilson & Wilson, 2010, p.50). Interestingly, the report also found that

the respondents feared Random Breath Testing (RBT) more than they feared drug testing. As

a result, when the possibility of being detected for drink driving proved high participants in

the survey reported taking drugs as a safer alternative to being caught drink driving. Other

participants reported the use of methamphetamines as a means of staying alert and awake

when returning home late from parties and social events.

Studies such as these again highlight the ongoing nature and associated risks faced by those

in the north and western regions particularly where youth in these regions are more reliant

on their own personal transport therefore increasing the likelihood of

drug/methamphetamine driving.

Examine the links between methamphetamine use and crime, in particular crimes

against the person;

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The above reference will not be addressed due to it being outside Youth Projects data set.

5. Examine the short and long term consequences of methamphetamine use;

Clients who participate in Youth Projects alcohol and drug counselling outreach services self-

report the following consequences of their methamphetamine use.

Short-term – desirable and negative effects

Increased alertness, sociability and sense of feeling good

Heightened sex-drive

Low moods when coming down

Lack of sleep

Negative interaction with alcohol and other drugs

Long-term – negative effects

Frustration with every day-life

Depression and anxiety

Paranoia

Loss of employment and associated financial stress

Forensic/legal issues

Alienation from family

Elevated potential for involvement in violent situations

Deterioration in general health and well-being status

Psychotic symptoms

6. Examine the relationship of methamphetamine use to other forms of illicit and licit

substances;

Poly drug use is fairly typical of clients who access alcohol and other drug services. Youth Projects

data show that in a majority of cases where poly-drug use was identified; methamphetamine use co-

existed alongside alcohol in most cases along with cannabis, ecstasy and heroin.

Youth Projects Needle Syringe Programs distribute approximately 950,000 syringes a year. The Foot

Patrol street based teams in Melbourne’s CBD, and the North West Outreach Service operate every

day and night of the year in needle syringe exchange across the region.

While our statistics relate to injecting drug use, and methamphetamine does not need to be

injected, it is both possible and likely in the light of poly drug use, that it is being used by those who

are injecting heroin.

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Figure 2 Ready to distribute. Outreach needle and syringe programs provide a rare opportuitty to engage and educate people using illicit drugs.

The public health benefits, cost savings and engagement opportunities provide by Needle Syringe

Programs will continue to be an important tool in addressing substance abuse in our community. (It

is estimated that NSP programs return a minimum of $4 in cost savings to our health system for

every $1 spent. http://www.australiandrugsconference.org.au/presentations/David Wilson.pdf

The specialist expertise of outreach NSP workers who can communicate with the drug using

community offer drug education and safety advice and ultimately rehab opportunities should be

considered an ongoing and important resource in the consideration of the problems with ICE.

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Figure 3 The Foot Patrol team are the first to see emerging drug trends on our streets. A trusted, non-judgemental service opens doors to treatment and change.

7. Review the adequacy of past and existing state and federal strategies for dealing with

methamphetamine use;

From our experience in front line service delivery, the rise of methamphetamine has come about

rapidly as a drug of choice in our client group. Traditionally cannabis, heroin and alcohol were the

main drugs being used.

However methamphetamine presents new and difficult challenges to our therapeutic responses.

While all levels of government have recognised the rise of methamphetamine and supported

research, it is important to recognise the work at the very grass roots level has also changed.

Funding for rapid response and long term counselling needs to reflect the impact of

methamphetamine on clients, client presentations, treatment options and work place safety for

those at the front line of treatment.

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For Youth Projects, in order to fulfil our commitment to our work, we have had to address, with no

additional resources the following issues, placing extreme pressure on our resources and capacity

that is not sustainable:

More highly qualified AOD counsellors who attract higher salaries, for which we are not

funded

Longer term treatment and more intensive follow up and monitoring of clients, for which we

are no funded

Ongoing staff training in aggression management and de-escalation techniques, for which

we are not funded

Redesign and refit of our reception and treatment areas to improve safety of our staff

working with meth –affected clients, for which we are not funded

8. Consider best practice strategies to address methamphetamine use and associated crime,

including regulatory, law enforcement, education and treatment responses (particularly for groups

outlined above)

REFERENCE

Youth projects utilise evidence based resources for education & treatment of

Methamphetamine use that clearly outline best practice principles & strategies. Rather than

repeat their contents here, reference is made for consideration.

Lee, N. Jenkinson, R. Johnston, J. Connolly, K. Hall, K. & Cash, R. (2007).

Clinical Treatment Guidelines for Alcohol & Drug Clinicians. No 14:

Methamphetamine Dependence & Treatment. Fitzroy, Victoria: Turning Point Alcohol

& Drug Centre Inc.

www.druginfo.adf.org.au

INTEGRATED LOCAL RESPONSES ARE KEY Outreach, engagement and referral into education and employment in integrated responses are the

most effective responses for this community.

Recognition that substance abuse does not occur in isolation and addressing the key drivers of those

behaviours are the foundation steps in addressing methamphetamine and other substance abuse.

Family abuse, intergenerational unemployment, disengagement from schooling, social isolation,

homelessness and mental health problems are all part of the mix in explaining the resort to and

attraction of methamphetamine.

Despite the high degree of difficulty, Youth Projects has worked with the multiple and complex

needs of our community, (including drug use) to successfully prepare them for a major turnaround in

the lives. Long term post placement support, lateral thinking, reverse marketing, and non

traditional, innovative work experience approaches have been tested and proved successful.

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EXAMPLES: TURNING YOUNG LIVES AROUND WITH INTEGRATED RESPONSES

Youth Projects, Project Press, September, 2013

http://stylecounsel.com.au/project_press/september2013/the_turnaround.html

the turnaround

Kitchen Academy builds skills, confidence

Youth Projects takes a direct approach to work readiness for young people, using less traditional and more engaging techniques to bring out the best in people.

“Unemployment can be an isolating and lonely experience, especially for young school leavers who don’t yet have networks of support to draw on,” says Wendy Caspar, Manager, Employment Services.

“As a specialist youth employment provider, Youth Projects work on many pre-vocational issues that pick up on building confidence, communication and trust for young job seekers,” explains Wendy.

One example is The Kitchen Academy program designed by Youth Projects at the Meadows Primary School in Broadmeadows.

The Kitchen Academy program brings people together to make and serve a simple morning tea at the local primary school, building self-confidence, communication skills and some cooking skills along the way.

This approach is key to Youth Projects’ success as the leading youth employment service in the Calder region, according to the government's performance rating system.

The program is also now expanding to Sunbury Heights Primary School.

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Figure 4 Somewhere to go, something to do. The Kitchen Academy draws in disengaged and troubled youth while building self-esteem, confidence and skills

Figure 5 Local & trusted. Our Hope in Trades program (HIT) Church Hall, Glenroy, sees long term unemployed males learn new skills, models positive behaviours. The program can change the trajectory of lives away from the potential for drug use and crime. Most go on to secure employment and a bright future.

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Figure 6 An achievement. The HIT program graduation recognises and rewards participants, A "first' for most.

EXAMPLE: Our Youth Northern Outreach Team

Youth Projects provides programs and counselling services for clients who self-refer or are

subject to a court order. The Youth Northern Outreach Team (YNOT) is long standing

program. It is the only outreach service in the North West metropolitan area whereby

clinicians can travel to the client.

This service is important for reaching clients that lack access to transport, would not otherwise

feel comfortable accessing a front door service and or who require further confidentiality.

Youth Projects commentary:

Huge increase in ice use among youth worker clients

By HELEN GRIMAUX 07:15:AM 11/09/2013

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Youth workers in Melbourne’s north and west are reporting a 300

per cent increase in ice use among clients over the past five years.

And police data released last week has cited ice (crystal

methamphetamine) as a factor in Victoria’s dramatic rise in incidents of

domestic and random violence.

Organisations in the north are calling for an urgent investment in

the social capital required to combat family breakdowns, youth and

adult homelessness, and heightened levels of violence.

Women’s Health in the North’s acting chief executive Sandra Morris

said the situation was “shocking”, likening it to a national emergency

after Victoria Police recorded 9861 family violence incidents in

Melbourne’s northern region in 2012-13, an increase of 23.4 per cent

from 2011-12 (7992 incidents).

Across Victoria, incidents increased from 50,016 to 60,829 over the same period, a jump of 21.6 per cent.

The rate was particularly high in Hume (1430 incidents per

100,000) and Whittlesea (1249 incidents per 100,000), compared with the

state rate of 1071 per 100,000.

“And one big issue with family violence is ice,” Ms Morris said.

“We must look at this as a public health issue. Family violence results in injury, illness, disability, mental illness, homelessness and death.

“If we had an outbreak of disease that was causing these rates of

harm in the population, we would be in a state of national emergency,”

Melanie Raymond, chief executive of Glenroy-based Youth Projects,

said workers had reported that ice use among young people from

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Melbourne’s north had increased by 300 per cent in recent times.

“Cannabis continues to be used steadily, however, in some of our

programs, and in just 12 months ice has outstripped cannabis as the drug

of choice,” Ms Raymond said.

Ice use is also increasingly associated with acts of random

violence as drug-affected users experience delusional and paranoid

episodes, usually when coming down from the “high” of the highly

addictive drug.

“What is also alarming is that ice is being used in conjunction

with alcohol and prescription medication, and that is a highly toxic

mix,” Ms Raymond said.

“In our alcohol and drug counselling services throughout the

north-west … we are increasingly seeing ice used alongside alcohol and

cannabis.”

Ms Raymond said ice was widely available on the streets in the

northern suburbs, and she linked easier access with the advent of

illegal drug labs in the northern area.

“Young people with ice addiction are far more difficult to treat

than those using cannabis alone, due to the impact of this drug,” Ms

Raymond said.

The Youth Northern Outreach Team (YNOT) provides outreach drug and

alcohol treatment for those aged between 12 and 25, delivering services

in cities including Moreland, Hume and Whittlesea.

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» For help, call YNOT on 9304 9100. Source: http://www.northernweekly.com.au/story/1770126/huge-increase-in-ice-use-among-youth-worker-clients/?cs=1241

FURTHER REFERENCE

Youth projects utilise evidence based resources for education & treatment of

Methamphetamine use that clearly outline best practice principles & strategies. Rather than

repeat their contents here, reference is made for consideration.

Lee, N. Jenkinson, R. Johnston, J. Connolly, K. Hall, K. & Cash, R. (2007).

Clinical Treatment Guidelines for Alcohol & Drug Clinicians. No 14:

Methamphetamine Dependence & Treatment. Fitzroy, Victoria: Turning Point Alcohol

& Drug Centre Inc.

www.druginfo.adf.org.au

“Nobody grows up wanting to be a drug addict” - Youth Projects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDATXqB1yCE&feature=player_embedded

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Where hope is on the outer By HELEN GRIMAUX 06:36:AM 31/07/2013 Permanent underclass status beckons for young people living in outer Melbourne as social infrastructure buckles under immense pressure. Helen Grimaux reports.

YOUNG people from Melbourne’s rapidly growing northern and western fringes do not live in one of the world’s most “liveable” cities.

These areas are the underbelly of the metropolis for tens of thousands of “youth”, caught up in a housing boom driven by the resettlement of the largest refugee and multicultural community after Greater Dandenong.

New residents are moving in on older generations with the blue-collar profile of working class families, tied to manufacturing and the airport. The older ‘burbs of the north and west are now flanked with motorways connecting the city to its gateways, creating corridors that are progressively being infilled by subdivisions along the Hume, Calder and Western Highways.

New estates are signed off every few months but there’s nowhere near enough money for what’s been asked of the social building effort need to cope with Melbourne’s relentless urban sprawl.

While governments pays families to keep young people at school, there’s not much money if young people fail the system, or the system fails them.

The safety net is a patchwork of church-based and not-for-profit agencies, parent-run associations and volunteer networks, hard-working people charged with competing for what many say is a non-strategic at best, politically charged for sure, pool of state and federal funds.

All youth and family organisations and agencies contacted by The Weekly say they are stretched for every dollar; the May state budget came and went, with the north and west most noted by their absence in announcements on youth funding, particularly vital mental health funding.

TAFE cuts and recent losses in the manufacturing sector have impacted badly on community pysche, and there seems to be no-one leading, no-one in charge of the plan for how to get people out of the economic doldrums – and, more importantly, how to actively engage young people to get into the workforce and keep on learning, even if they’re not at conventional schools.

THE YOUTH WORKER

Youth Projects board chairman Melanie Raymond grew up in Coburg and has worked with young

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people in Melbourne’s north for more than 25 years.

Raymond points to the latest government figures showing the queues at Broadmeadows Centrelink of unemployed 15-24 year olds are the longest in the state. Last month more than 3000 people registered for youth allowance and unemployment benefit Newstart.

“Clients are in worse shape than ever before,” Raymond said.

“Housing circumstances are precarious – more than half are a risk of homelessness, couch surfing and living in unstable accommodation.

“They are hungry and struggling to live on Newstart.”

In Broadmeadows, the youth jobless rate has just jumped to 16 per cent, about three times higher than the 5.1 percent Melbourne average.

Raymond is also concerned by new data coming out of the north and Sunbury areas about changing drug use among young people, with a shift away from cannabis smoking to steroid and methamphetamine use. Any of these mixed with alcohol fuels an angry cocktail.

She wants a northern investment fund to build physical and social infrastructure and to break the cycle of welfare dependence, low skills and lack of social mobility, to break the “winners and losers” divide.

“Melbourne’s outer north will become a permanent underclass of people locked out of economic and social life without further investment in the region,” Raymond said.

“The outer northern suburbs, from Broadmeadows to Wallan and Whittlesea, have the state’s highest rates of unemployment and welfare dependency, yet there is no overall plan to change those factors.

“Collaborative investment from all levels of government and the private sector are needed to build the skills and future capacity of these northern growth areas.”

She said young people in these areas remain below the national average in educational performance and face a long term future that will always be marred by a lack of skill and opportunity – unless there is action, and soon.

Education and enterprise are the golden eggs of a healthy community.

“In a tough environment, Youth Projects works with young people to make the life-changing turnaround from welfare dependence and poverty into work and training,” she said.

“We work intensively with local employers on opportunities to employ young people and we help clients assess their job readiness, looking at their skills and any barriers to quickly address gaps and problems, including literacy, numeracy, behavioural issues and realistic expectations,” she said

“Many come from backgrounds where no one in their family or extended networks has ever had or kept a job, or finished school.

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“Learning about “work” is a first step – through workplace visits, work experience and useful information about working life – these are vital first steps.”

Youth Projects holds the federal government employment service contract as a “youth specialist” for the entire Calder region. It is also an apprenticeship provider, a registered training organisation and a place where young people can access mental wellbeing and substance abuse counselling.

Raymond said Youth Projects is always on the lookout for new employers willing to give young people a go, either as short-term workers or as longer term options.

“Those who do have addressed job vacancies and found reliable local workers,” Raymond said.

THE PSYCHOLOGIST

YOUNG people are psychologist Peter Langdon’s speciality. He has been on call for some of the western suburbs more infamous moments, when streets erupted with neighbourhood violence and school yards of young people were impacted.

Too many kids nowdays, he finds, live virtual lives, eyes and digits the only moving parts for long periods, scanning screens large and small, earphone existences, grid connection the only prerequisite.

Face to face skills are diminishing – why talk when you can text? But texting cuts down brain activity – facial expressions, voice nuances and body language are lost. Texting is so quick; talking takes mental effort.

Langdon wants town planners to think about young people as they “renew” our town centres and build new ones.

“Space, place and time”, these are his key ingredients to “hope”, the hope of every child to grow up and into our complex and fast-changing world and to find connections into community.

“They search for a campfire without the camp,” Langdon says.

“That’s what kids do. Risk is something they learn by.

“You’d be surprised how many kids climb out their windows at night.”

Parents often know where their children are, and often drive to pick them up – hanging out near darkened supermarkets, in parks or abandoned buildings.

Town planners, he said, need to leave spaces for young people, councils need to get out and start talking to young people from less advantaged areas, to step into their shoes for a couple of days.

“We could also see graffiti as an art form, as expression, not as vandalism.

“Graffiti dates back beyond the Roman times – it’s on all the temples.”

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What we do need to arm young people with, Langdon says, is awareness about experimentation with alcohol and drugs, the threat factors to them personally and physically, addictive elements that can trap them in unhappy and often violent relationships.

While community life seemingly lacks connective fibre, Langdon urges young people to reach out when they need help, to walk in the door of Youth Projects, Headspace, Dianella, Lentara, the City Mission or Mission of the Streets and Lanes, and find people of good faith who can open doors and show them other pathways to get through the “youth” years in good shape.

Melanie Raymond at Youth Projects www.youthprojects.org.au

Source: http://www.meltonweekly.com.au/story/1497746/melton-youth-back-to-the-

mainstream/