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A 2003 community forum was told that unless the Government intervened Redfern Station would not be upgraded until 2011. Both 2011 and Government interventions have come and gone and the 20 year old promise that access would be addressed by a station upgrade could still be another 20 years away when lifts are needed now.
“Lift Redfern” is collecting stories about how the lack of access impacts on a wide spectrum of the community. So share your stories, show your support by getting as many signatures as you can and supporting other initiatives. More information is on the “Lift Redfern” tab on www.redwatch.org.au.
Source: South Sydney Herald February 2012 www.southsydneyherald.com.au]]>‘
During this workshop, you will have the opportunity to be involved in interactive demonstrations and practice sessions with feedback. You will leave this workshop with confidence to grow cooperation and effectiveness in groups and how to adapt the processes to your own situations in life and work.
Date: Monday 11 April 2011
Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Venue: Redfern Town Hall L3 / 73 Pitt St, Redfern (close to Redfern train station)
Light lunch and refreshments will be provided
Booking and Enquiry Numbers are limited. If you would like to RSVP for any of the above training session, or to make an enquiry, please contact Caroline Corin: ccorin@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au / fax to 9246-7894 or call 9265 9517.Please note that we will only allocate a maximum of 2 people per organisation that are located within / provide services to the City of Sydney LGA and a maximum of one individual from other organisations. We believe this is a fair and equitable decision to enable a diverse range of community organisations to participate in the training.
Please advise us if you have any access requirements. *Please note you are only able to attend ONE training session per person
]]>Representation from local Indigenous leaders and identities will be in attendance and invitations have also gone out to key figures in NSW Health, Redfern Waterloo Authority and local MP’s.
The screening will take place after a Welcome to Country by a local Aboriginal Leader, followed by an introduction to the movie by the Co-Creator and Producer of Men’s Group – John L Simpson and Director – Michael Joy. After the screening we will conduct a Q and A session about the making of the movie and the positive effects it has had on other communities.
Until recently Gamarada has existed without funding and we are seeking sponsorship for this event. If you would like to make a contribution please contact Gamarada by the email link below and indicate the type of support you can offer. We would be delighted to have your attendance for this purposeful event and would be grateful for any support offered by you or your organisation.
When/Where: - This special event will be held at the Redfern Community Centre 29-54 Hugo St Redfern on Tuesday 19th May 2009 at 530 for a 6pm start.
Please RSVP to kzulumovski@mail.piac.asn.au by May 15TH or call Ken: 0433 346 645
]]>Date: Tuesday 5 April
Time: 9:00am – 12:30pm
Venue: Redfern Town Hall L3 / 73 Pitt St, Redfern (close to Redfern train station)
Light refreshments will be provided
The above training is delivered by IllumiNations Cultural Training
Booking and Enquiry Numbers are limited. If you would like to RSVP for any of the above training session, or to make an enquiry, please contact Caroline Corin: ccorin@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au / fax to 9246-7894 or call 9265 9517.
Please note that we will only allocate a maximum of 2 people per organisation that are located within / provide services to the City of Sydney LGA and a maximum of one individual from other organisations. We believe this is a fair and equitable decision to enable a diverse range of community organisations to participate in the training.
Please advise us if you have any access requirements. *Please note you are only able to attend ONE training session per person
]]>MAIN AIMS
1. Identify the issues faced by our children that cause them to take drugs.
2. Focus on impact of individual and family decisions
3. Discuss a scenario to keep the discussion practical and focussed on ‘real world’ systems and situations.
4. Provide an enjoyable and lively interactive session with audience participation.
PANEL OF EXPERTS
Also attending will be Souths stars Nigel Vagana, Johnny Sutton, and David Peachey
LUCKY DOOR PRIZE: Signed 2008 South Sydney Football Jersey.
Bookings: Loraine Anderson on 9265 4509 or Tiffany Normand on 8306 9912
“Its not about telling our kids; don’t take drugs! – Its about giving our kids the information so they can make informed and educated decisions about their own life! ”
]]>For some time now questions have been asked about who controls Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group. Even worse are the uninformed statements that members have heard from people (obviously ‘in the know’) that Babana is controlled by this organisation or that; or by various government departments.
Those questions have gained ground since the publication of the most recent Redfern
Waterloo Authority (RWA) Newsletter.
In an article Babana was mentioned. Some people thought that the article intimated that RWA was responsible for setting up Babana and that it was still a part of their domain.
The writer of the article, I am sure, did not mean to give that impression and the wording could be seen to be ‘unfortunate’.
My purpose in writing this short piece is to answer those questions from the point of view of a person who is a member of the Management Committee of Babana.
Babana came about through discussions between men that there was no place for them to have a voice in our community.
Those discussions led to some men asking why can’t we form our own organisation that would work with men, through men, for men, which would create more opportunities for positive interaction.
This, in turn would create more opportunities for our community to heal and to grow.
To begin, and even now, Babana has looked for sponsors to work with in relation to growing our presence in Redfern and Waterloo. We have gained sponsorship and donations from many and varied organisations to keep ourselves running.
We have worked with quite a number of groups from RWA, AMS, Care Connect, Local Area Command, various schools and many more. Too many to mention in a short article.
We are grateful for that support. We are grateful for any funding and donations. We hope to keep our relationships and mutual working together with other organisations going in the future. And we will say no when we feel what is being offered is not in the best interests of Babana or our community.
However, Babana is not now, and will never be in the control of any other group or organisation or government department. We are an independent group of men and we are controlled by our members, through our management committee.
While we are grateful to other groups and organisations, no funding, no donations, no support will ever compromise that independence
Those ‘in the know’ people; come to our meetings, join Babana, then talk.
Don Clark
Source Babana News August Newsletter 2008 (615.4 KB PDF).
You can download Babana Newsletters from www.myspace.com/babanaboriginal
]]>As you know, the NSW Government has set up a Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA) to manage public infrastructure and achieve sustainable social and physical improvements.
The RWA will be established on January 17. I am now considering community advisory committees to consult on particular issues affecting Redfern-Waterloo - starting work from March 2005.
The current thinking is for three advisory committees of about 15 members each, comprising residents and State and local government, covering such areas as Human Services, Employment and the Built Environment.
I am also considering public forums for residents or representatives of community organisations, as well as working groups on specific projects.
In addition, the Redfern Waterloo Plan, which will probably be prepared in phases, will be subject to public exhibition and input at each stage.
What I, and the Authority, will be seeking is constructive input towards positive outcomes for the area. On this basis, we will be consulting extensively.
If you have suggestions for consultation and these committees, please write to me -GPO Box 5341, Sydney NSW 2001 (att: Owen Torpy) or 9228 4700. To allow time to consider submissions, please post by 31 January 2005.
I took forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Frank Sartor
PS See the attached fact sheet for more information about the RWA
Attached STATEMENT BY MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REDFERN-WATERLOO AUTHORITY, FRANK SARTOR
]]>Redfern is not being singled out. There are already about 150 ADMs in use across NSW.
Redfern has one of the highest rates of HIV and hepatitis C in Australia, due to high levels of injecting drug activity. HIV rates among injecting drugs users in the area are three times the national rate, and hepatitis C rates are 10 per cent higher than anywhere else in Australia.
Considerable work has gone into improving the amenity of Redfern in the past decade, including dismantling The Block, but drug activity and HIV and hepatitis C infection rates among injecting drug users have not decreased in line with that.
Clean syringes are available at the Redfern Community Health Centre during business hours and at a nearby pharmacy until 9pm, but we know drug taking is not confined to those hours.
High rates of HIV and hepatitis C among injecting drug users is a whole-of-community issue because both viruses are easily spread to non-injecting drug users through sexual contact, and the associated costs of treatment are borne by all.
According to a report commissioned by the Federal Government, Needle Syringe Programs resulted in the prevention of an estimated 25,000 cases of HIV and 21,000 cases of hepatitis C among injecting drug users between 1991 and 2000. The savings to the health system in avoided treatment costs over a lifetime were estimated to be between $2.4 billion and $7.7 billion.
Locating the ADM at the front entrance of the Redfern Community Health Centre, in a well-lit area covered by CCTV cameras, provides a greater level of security for residents, business owners and those using the machine due to the passive surveillance provided by passing traffic.
These machines have been used across Australia for 25 years and there have been no reports of children accessing them to inject drugs.
They are specially designed to make it difficult for children to gain access.
Studies have shown that access to syringes does not play a role in a person’s decision to use drugs for the first time. Exposure to drugs, however, does.
As a publicly-funded health service, we must remain fiscally responsible while providing our patients with internationally recognised best practice models of care.
ADMs have been successful in Australia for 25 years because they are highly effective at reducing HIV and hepatitis C infection rates among injecting drug users, while remaining very cost-efficient in an environment where health dollars are scarce.
In addition, many injecting drug users prefer not to engage with staff because they are ashamed of their behaviour, or have concerns about privacy.
Without the anonymity provided by ADMs they are at risk of sharing needles which may be contaminated.
The Needle Syringe Program has been operating in Australia since 1986 and this has not been the experience of other communities.
That has not been the experience in other communities where ADMs are operating.
In cases where someone is attacked with a used syringe, low infection rates in the area greatly reduce the risk of them contracting HIV and hepatitis C.
Research shows that most used syringes are not discarded in public areas, however we already conduct sweeps of the area twice a day and will continue to do so.
If you find a needle, we encourage you to call our hotline at any time and we will send someone out to collect it. The hotline number is 1800 633 353 (24 hours).
We, like you, want to make Redfern a healthier, safer place to live and work, and we know ADMs play a powerful role in reducing HIV and hepatitis C rates among injecting drug users.
To ensure we reach that goal, we will continue to work closely with NSW Police, City of Sydney Council, the Department of Housing, business owners and residents.
Working groups are being established and will meet regularly to assess the ongoing impact of the ADM, and at the community’s request, we have appointed a new harm minimisation program manager and liaison officer to ensure the community continues to have input into this project.
Kate Reakes started in her role last week and we encourage you to contact her on 0427 550 782 if you would like to join the working groups or to discuss issues related to the ADM.
Source: Circulated to Sydney Local Health District Community Meeting on 29 January 2013 at the Redfern Health Centre.
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