The Loop Australia

Detailed findings from the Victorian Drug Checking Service at Beyond the Valley are now available. ?? 78% of samples contained just what was expected (no other psychoactives). ?? 22% contained something different. This was run as a partnership with Harm Reduction Victoria and Youth Support + Advocacy Service, and was funded by the Victorian Department of Health. Link to the full report in comments.

?? We’re hiring a Melbourne-based project officer ?? The project officer (part time, 4 days per week) will provide essential administrative and program support to The Loop Australia’s Drug Checking Director in Victoria. This will include: - governance and operational support, such as acting as secretariat to relevant committees, supporting staff recruitment, onboarding, rostering, tracking workforce training and compliance with regulatory requirements - responsibility for managing day-to-day operational logistics, including purchasing consumables and equipment - providing onsite support for events and the fixed-site service The project officer will work with a multidisciplinary team including people with lived experience of drug use, chemists, and health and harm reduction workers. Applications close 21st February 2025 at 6pm. More info: https://lnkd.in/gqrds9vS

The Loop Australia is recruiting a team of casual chemists and healthcare workers to work at Victoria’s first drug checking service. The 18-month trial will deliver drug checking services at up to 10 festivals over two seasons, and establish a fixed site in Melbourne. If you think you have the skills and experience required, please apply. Applications close COB 9th February 2025. More info at theloop.org.au/join-us

Victoria's drug checking service will operate at four more events this festival season: Hardmission Festival, Pitch Music & Arts, Ultra Australia, and The Warehouse Project. This is a free service with zero judgement. We're here to let you know what's in your substances and provide confidential harm reduction advice, so you can make informed decisions. Harm Reduction Victoria Youth Support + Advocacy Service Victorian Department of Health

Our CEO Cam Francis spoke earlier this week with Tegan Taylor on ABC's Life Matters, talking about how drug checking works, how it reduces harm, and how it all went down at Beyond the Valley. Insights also from Jennie Ross-King and Anna Olsen ?? https://lnkd.in/gZwfausU

We’ve been amazed by the response to our first service in Victoria, run with Harm Reduction Victoria and Youth Support + Advocacy Service ???? It was a big one: 4 days, more than 600 samples tested and convos with more than 700 people. Most of the people we spoke with had never spoken with a health professional about drugs - what a privilege to chat with you!! ???? It was really special for us harm reduction veterans to see so much interest from festivalgoers. Thank you for trusting us, and thank you for your enthusiasm and supportive words. Cannot overstate our gratitude to our excellent team of chemists, healthcare workers and harm reduction specialists for giving SO MUCH to the service. Thank you also to Victorian Department of Health?for funding, but also for your deep investment in making this service the best it can be. Thank you to?Untitled Group for being so involved and supportive, and especially for the greenery (very lush, chic). We can’t wait until the next one. Drug checking in Victoria is ON baby! ??????

We ran Victoria’s first state sanctioned drug checking service earlier this week with Harm Reduction Victoria at Beyond The Valley. Our Victorian Drug Checking Director, Sarah Hiley, talked about how it went and what we did on the ABC this morning. Thanks again to our partners Youth Support + Advocacy Service for supporting the service, and of course Victorian Department of Health for funding us!

What happens when you come to our drug checking service at Beyond the Valley? Nick, Monica, Nadia, Kirsty and Cam from The Loop Australia and Harm Reduction Victoria are here to walk you through!

ONE WEEK until our drug checking service operates for the first time in Victoria at BTV (Harm Reduction Victoria, Youth Support + Advocacy Service, Victorian Department of Health, Beyond The Valley) Want to know how it’ll work? 1. Find us in the health precinct, next to medical and Dancewize 2. Fill out a quick (and anonymous) survey (all qs are optional) 3. Drop off a tiny sample (we mean tiny, about the size of a match head) 4. Get a code to pick up your results later 5. Come back and discuss results with a harm reduction worker later Feel free to DM us if you have qs (or just come say hi when we’re there!) Open every day 1-7pm. Free, legal, completely anonymous.

? ?? 25 days until Victoria’s drug checking service begins! A partnership of Youth Support + Advocacy Service, The Loop Australia and Harm Reduction Victoria have been funded by the Victorian Department of Health to run drug checking services at festivals this summer. We’re also preparing to launch a fixed-site service in inner Melbourne in mid-2025. We’ll be working with Youth Projects, Melbourne Health (The Royal Melbourne Hospital) and Metabolomics Australia (University of Melbourne) to provide the best services we can. The service starts now, but many years of work from many different people allowed us to get here - thank you to everyone who has made this happen See you at Beyond The Valley on 28 December!