Website
One thing the pandemic reinforced is that while there is a real digital divide between people who are able to access online content and those who cannot, there is a growing community of people who use drugs who engage only through our website and our various social media accounts. The new Chat function added this year has proved to be another invaluable means of communication for those from community who appreciate some anonymity.
The website is slowly morphing into a go-to resource of information, education and connection. Constantly evolving to keep up with our everchanging needs and wants. Most recently we partnered with Prof. Margaret Hellard of the Burnet Institute to produce a video answering questions around the COVID vaccines and have added a Vaccine Clinics directory to the website complete with permanent vaccination clinics, including regularly updated links to pop-up and walk-in clinics as well as to partner websites.
Site Sessions
22,737
Unique Visitors
15,783
With 15,208 New Visitors this year and 575 Returning our reach is growing daily.
Resources topped our most visited page list this year followed by DanceWize and then PAMS. The most valuable newcomer goes to our 'COVID and Methadone/Buprenorphine' page filled with the answers so many of us were asking during lockdown.
Resources
HRVic differs from alot of organisations in that we have the ability to create and produce -both digital and in hard copy- health promotion resources and organisation branding staples in house.
Whether its a logo for a new project or program, merchandising equipment for events, t-shirts for volunteers and give aways, designing and sourcing new naloxone kits and creating the educational info that sits inside of them, knocking up some catchy TikToks or doing a live podcast - our communications & design team has us covered. We also provide a number of resources for other service deliverers.
Resource Sales
HRVic's Substance Specific Brochures led the resource sales this year again proving that reliable and up to date information on all substances is always needed by punters and service providers alike. There are currently 18 substances covered in this series of brochures.
COVID
Two things drug use teaches you- how to 'wait' and how to change direction on a 'dime' (equivalent to the size of a five cent coin). Two things working in harm reduction teaches you- flexibility and fore sight.
HRVic's COVID and Drug Use poster series were popular and prove that the drug using community is most likely the quickest to identify and fill the information needs for it's own community when it comes to the crunch.
We know what we need and when we need it. #nothingaboutuswithoutus
Posters which are available here: https://www.hrvic.org.au/covid19-you.
Social Media
HRVic increased it’s reach through various platforms in 2020-21. We engage with community mainly through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
Facebook Followers: 2.8k
Facebook Likes: 2,752k
Facebook Reach: 61,301
Twitter Followers: 2201
Tweet Impressions: 131.08k
Instagram Followers-1,591
Reach- 4,626
Content Interactions- 1984 content interactions on 72 posts
Above: Hep C rapid antibody test TikTok
TikTok Followers: 138
TikTok Likes: 536 on 30 posts
Post Interactions: 17,613
TikTok Top Post Reach: 8,507 Posted: 24/12/20 12:49pm. Content: Victorian Drug Alert- cocaine Mixed with N-Ethylpentylone
174 likes, 17 comments, 49 shares
DanceWize regularly engages with its large volunteer pool and committed community via social media and offer their volunteers online training. As mentioned in the DanceWize section, they undertook a number of campaigns and offer education around a range of issues that impact us all, such as sexual assault disclosure, consent and of course drug checking.
Above: 'Just Say Know' -Approaching Harm Reduction video by DanceWize
Early Warning System
DanceWize and HRVic partnered with the Dept. of Health to put out verifiable and actionable drug alerts this past year as well, on a number of occasions. The Dept. of Health has a process that includes review and input from us as a peer organisation, which contributes to verification, and we ensure that advice can be acted upon by community and by harm reduction workers. These posts are always engaged with on a large scale. (see TikTok Top post info above)
WHACK
As costs have risen and communication channels have diversified, we continue to put out WHACK editions 3 times a year (although last year we 'cheated' and did one double issue along with a normal issue). Community submissions make up 70% of all content and we want more – so please consider contributing, the details on how to contact us are in WHACK.
During our multiple COVID lockdowns in Victoria, it became even more apparent that isolation, disconnection and misinformation was doing more damage than the virus. We needed to engage, connect and inform our community in quicker, more reliable ways. With this in mind, we have taken WHACK online this year. Not as a flipbook PDF but as its own interactive entity which we hope will encourage more community interaction and involvement. We hope to include new and exciting additions like a podcast or two and an interactive member forum where community members can discuss all things substance and harm reduction.
WHACK Readership:
1002 x Individual members posted WHACK each issue
58 x Organisational/Agency members given between 2 -120 magazines each.
11 x Regional Victorian agencies
7x Interstate Australia
1x International (box of 60 mags)
Events
The past year has been somewhat empty on the official event calendar but an empty calendar has never stopped HRVic from getting out where the people are and where they may need us.
Early on, the general populace decided this was the year to "stand up for something or fall for anything" and stand up they did.
Whether it was for climate change, Pride, Black Lives Matter, Survival
Day/Australia Day, International Overdose Awareness Day, International Drug User Remembrance Day, Support Don't Punish, Free Julian Assange- we were there.
Above: Pride 2020
Below: Supplies for #BlackLivesMatter
We attended to support our community and to do what we do best- reduce harm. We handed out masks, hand sanitiser, gloves, sunscreen, water and other basics and by the end of the day we happily left with an empty trolley.
Between lockdowns we were able to briefly attend a couple of events. We had an information table at the beautiful Astor Theatre for launch of 'The United States vs Billie Holiday' with special introduction by Johann Hari put on by Drug Policy Australia for Support Don't Punish day.
Above: Table at 'The United States vs Billie Holiday' for Support Don't Punish
Above: HRVic headquarters lit up for Int. Overdose Awareness Day