North Richmond Community Health

From 1 July 2024, a new chapter begins for the Medically Supervised Injecting Room as North Richmond Community Health partners with St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Access Health and Community and Your Community Health to deliver more comprehensive treatment, care and support to people who inject drugs. The new model will aim to address the many complex factors that can contribute to long-term drug use, including experiences of trauma, mental illness, poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. Grounded in the local community, each partner brings invaluable expertise in delivering complex health programs that make a real difference. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/g5PgsZNt

Recently we were at Parliament House for the Community Health First Showcase. Our team proudly showcased the success of our Proactive Overdose Response Initiative. With over 1,000 trainings conducted this year alone, we’re equipping more people - families, friends, local services and community members - to recognise and respond to an overdose in the community. Every year, more than 600,000 Victorians rely on community health services like ours, and demand continues to grow. That's why we're calling on Victorian MPs to pledge their support in improving health and wellbeing outcomes for local communities. A special thanks to our amazing team on the ground Dearbhla Myler, Crios, Shelley C., Belinda Bravo, Laura O'Shea, Simone Heald and to the Victorian MPs who engaged in great discussions about our work. #communityhealth #communityhealthfirst #healthequity

Our Head of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Sarah Hiley, recently took a trip to the lovely Glasgow, Scotland to visit Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership's new supervised injecting service - the first of its kind in Scotland - set to open by the end of the year. Sarah was able to share the experience and learnings from the North Richmond team in discussing our unique model of care which focuses on providing wraparound care and support to people who inject drugs including access to mental health, medical, blood-borne virus testing and treatment, dental, housing, drug treatment and rehabilitation, and other health and social services onsite. Not only has the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room safely managed over 9,000 overdoses, it has seen nearly 160,000 other health and social services provided within the service. “As one of the largest supervised injecting services in the world, it’s really important for us to share the knowledge we have. We have learned a lot over the past six years and our service really is world-class,” said Sarah. #communityhealth

We were thrilled to showcase work from our local history project at our 50th anniversary celebration! 🎉  A huge thank you to the talented historians who made this project possible!👏👏👏 Pictured in the main/first photo (from left to right): ACU researcher Mary Tomsic, consultant historian and ACU PhD candidate Jen Rose (Well Chosen Words), ACU researcher Rachel Stevens, and ACU intern Sarah Maloney.   Jen played a key role in collecting photos, articles, and more from the archives, conducting interviews with current and former staff, and transforming these stories into captivating video content. She’s also compiling a final document that we look forward to sharing soon! Mary contributed immensely too, with her community interviews enriching the story of our history.   A shoutout to ACU interns Lauren Impey (pictured next to Sarah) and Sarah for their invaluable support throughout, and to ACU researcher Rachel for her help with research.  Thank you to everyone involved who helped bring our history and stories to life! Stay tuned for more updates on this project! 🌟   NRCH gratefully acknowledges the Local History Grants Program and Public Record Office Victoria, supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund.   #CommunityHealth #NRCH50Years

In the fourth video of our Local History Project series, we had the pleasure of speaking with Judy Abbott - a former social worker and Board Member at North Richmond Community Health - who began her journey with us in 1975. Watch as Judy shares memories from our early days and reflects on how the community has always been at the heart of NRCH’s integrated model of health. Stay tuned! We will be sharing more content from our ‘Local History Project’ in the coming weeks, highlighting the impact our health centre among has had on community members and both past and present staff over the past five decades. NRCH gratefully acknowledges the Local History Grants Program and Public Record Office Victoria, supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund. We also acknowledge the hard work of historians from the Australian Catholic University and Well Chosen Words. #NRCHturns50 #community #engagement #NorthRichmond

NRCH is proud to uphold its commitment to providing inclusive and affordable services that address health inequity. At our recent 50th anniversary celebrations, our CEO Simone Heald shared her reflections on what makes NRCH truly unique: “From the beginning, we were place-based, made of this community, owing our very existence to it. Our founding belief was simple and remains unchanged: healthcare must address the whole person, including the social connections that keep people strong and resilient. I’ve seen firsthand that when we truly listen to our community and respond to meet their needs, we can create profound change.” #CommunityHealth #NRCH50Years

We were honoured to recently host the Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ingrid Stitt MP as she sat down with one of our amazing community members, Hatice Yilmaz, to hear her story. When Hatice migrated from Turkey in 1982, she was overjoyed to call the North Richmond Housing Estate her new home. Over the past 40 years, she and her family have been supported by the same dedicated doctor at NRCH, Dr. John Furler. She regularly participates in NRCH’s Community Hub activities, which help her stay healthy and connected. Reflecting on the pandemic, Hatice shared that not only did NRCH ensure she had access to vaccinations and testing, our staff went above and beyond—delivering meals, checking in regularly, and helping her feel less alone. When Hatice’s son, Baris, passed away after battling drug addiction, NRCH staff were by her side. “I am a big supporter of the injecting room. Perhaps if that had been around when my son was alive, he might still be here,” said Hatice. Proudly, Hatice was inducted into the 2022 Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Stories like Hatice’s are a powerful reminder of how NRCH makes a real difference in people’s lives every day. #CommunityHealth #NRCH50Years

On Friday afternoon, North Richmond Community Health marked 50 years with a fabulous celebration, joined by our wonderful local community, past and present staff, and our many valued stakeholders. A huge thank you to the Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ingrid Stitt MP for joining us.   It was such a great day! We were blessed with perfect weather, with the sun and blue skies appearing just in time for the celebrations. The line-up of performances was incredible, the Cultural Catering team served up an array of delicious food, there was lots of fun with face painting, a magic show, slushies, and the very popular smoothie bike.   There were plenty of conversations, laughter, shared memories from across the decades and heart-warming stories by community members. The common thread throughout was the shared admiration and support for North Richmond Community Health.   We would like to thank everyone who took time out from their busy schedules to attend our birthday celebrations – your presence meant a lot to us! We also couldn’t have done it without our dedicated army of volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to organise and set up this event. Thank you for all your help!   Here’s to the next 50 years! #NRCHturns50 #community #engagement

Continuing our series of interviews with long-standing staff and community, here is a conversation with Dr David Isaac – General Practitioner at NRCH. Dr David Isaac has been part of NRCH since its earliest days. In his nearly 50 years of association with the health centre, he has seen the community around him grow and change into what it’s become today. What hasn’t changed is the diversity and the spirit of community development, according to him. In this interview, he reminisces about those early days in the ‘70s and ‘80s when things were, as he puts it, a ‘lot more fluid and informal’. Watch this space! We will be sharing more content from our ‘Local History Project’ in the coming weeks. The project highlights the impact of our health centre among community members and current and former staff over the past five decades. NRCH gratefully acknowledges the Local History Grants Program and Public Record Office Victoria, supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund. We also acknowledge the hard work of historians from the Australian Catholic University and Well Chosen Words. #NRCHturns50 #community #engagement #NorthRichmond

Watch our video interview with Laura O'Shea as part of our ‘Local History Project’. Laura is a respected public health leader who has worked for North Richmond Community Health since 2011. She is currently working as our Chief Operating Officer. Laura recalls the spirit of innovation that has always been one of the hallmarks of NRCH since its earliest days. Watch this space! We will be sharing more content from our ‘Local History Project’ in the coming weeks. The project highlights the impact of our health centre among community members and current and former staff over the past five decades. NRCH gratefully acknowledges the Local History Grants Program and Public Record Office Victoria, supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund. We also acknowledge the hard work of historians from Australian Catholic University and Well Chosen Words. #NRCHturns50 #community #engagement #NorthRichmond