Victoria sets up Collingwood’s first ‘sober up’ safe for those who overdid it as new laws about being drunk in public take effect
- Victoria will open the first “sobering” place on November 7
- Coincides with the state’s decriminalization of public intoxication
- Opening of a 20-bed facility at 3 Cambridge Street, Collingwood
Victoria’s first dedicated sobriety center will be set up in a suburb of central Melbourne ahead of the state’s decriminalization of public intoxication.
The 20-bed facility to be opened at Collingwood is an important part of the Andrews government’s commitment to treat public intoxication from a crime to a health problem.
Under the revised approach, outreach services will publicly support people who are intoxicated and take them to a safe place to rest and sober up if necessary, said mental health minister Gabrielle Williams.
While a safe place for many would be with a family member, friend or caregiver, for some it would be central, she said.
The new public intoxication policy is expected to come into effect on Melbourne Cup Day, November 7, with construction on the Collingwood center set to begin soon.
The facility will be at 3 Cambridge Street The age.
A new 20-bed sobriety center opens at 3 Cambridge St in Collingwood (pictured) on November 7 to coincide with the date when public intoxication will no longer be a criminal offense in Victoria
The location was chosen for its proximity to the CBD and to meet the high demand for public intoxication services in the area, Ms Williams said.
It is also close to both public transport and Saint Vincent Hospital.
“For too long, public intoxication laws have caused great pain to some of the most vulnerable in our community – these health reforms strike the right balance between supporting people who are intoxicated and the safety of the community,” Ms Williams said in a statement. declaration.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but there is no doubt that these services will save lives.”
The minister said the non-profit organization Cohealth would manage the general flow of services for Victoria’s health-based approach to public intoxication, including the sober-up centre.
The revised approach to public intoxication would see specially trained staff working with local health and social support services to ensure those using the sobering up center have access to support for other issues, including drugs, domestic violence and homelessness, she said.
A dedicated telephone line would be set up to allow referrals to public intoxication services.
People can be taken to the center by outreach teams, or else walk in themselves.
The new public intoxication policy is expected to come into effect on Melbourne Cup day, with construction on the Collingwood center due to start soon (stock image)
Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police would continue to respond to cases of public intoxication where there were pressing health concerns or the safety of the community was at risk, Ms Williams said.
The Victorian government committed to decriminalizing public intoxication at the start of a 2019 coronal inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta wife Tanya Day.
Ms Day was arrested in December 2017 for being drunk in a public place and later died after hitting her head against a wall in a concrete cell at Castlemaine police station.
Her death was preventable, a coroner found.
Ms Williams said additional outreach and sobering services for Aboriginal people would be rolled out in response to a recommendation from the corona inquiry.
Queensland is the only state that has yet to decriminalize public intoxication.