The new injection premises in Riponne, the second in Lausanne intended for drug addicts, opens Monday. Pilot project which will be evaluated after one year, this space is intended for people who find themselves in an emergency to consume. It has 17 places and could accommodate more than 100 people per day.
“The opening of this branch marks an important step. It completes our risk reduction system to offer an alternative to consumption in public spaces,” explained Emilie Moeschler, municipal official in charge of sports and cohesion, on Friday. social.
“It is part of a set of measures put in place by the Municipality, such as the City’s social street team. The goal is to improve the health of consumers and the quality in the city center, particularly for the neighborhood,” she added.
A rest room
The Riponne premises is a pilot branch of the main Secure Consumption Space (ECS) opened in 2018, and made permanent, in the Vallon district. It is “complementary and targets in particular the most disadvantaged people who need to consume quickly,” continued the socialist municipality.
Supervised by a professional team, the new premises are located north of Place de la Riponne, in the city center. Between its white and sky blue walls, it offers over 140 m2 a reception area, four rooms for injection and inhalation offering good hygienic conditions (17 places in total) as well as a room rest to accommodate people after the act of consumption. A location is also provided for sniffing.
“We start with an reception interview. Anonymity is guaranteed. We just note a nickname, age, gender and origin”, explains Matthieu Rouèche, director of the ABS Foundation (Low Threshold Reception) which manages places. A team of socio-health workers from the foundation is permanently present as well as a reception and security agent.
The pedestrianization of the underpass allowed the creation of an outdoor reception area (terrace), whose structures and furniture will be put away each evening.
Complementary to the Vallon
The Riponne branch is open Monday and Tuesday from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and from Wednesday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. For its part, the ECS du Vallon will open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It offers services such as primary care, changing room, shower, lunch, which is not the case at Riponne.
Le Vallon welcomes on average around 90 people per day. In 2022, for example, this corresponded to around 23,000 acts of consumption. The Riponne branch will potentially be able to accommodate more, according to its managers.
The work on this new premises cost nearly 500,000 francs, largely financed by the Loterie romande, otherwise by private donations and the reserves of the ABS Foundation. That of Vallon had cost some 450,000 francs at the time.
The annual cost of the Vallon ECS and its branch in Riponne amounts to 1.66 million francs, financed by the municipal operating budget as well as around 30% by the canton of Vaud.
jfe with ats
