Peer Based Harm Reduction WA

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At PBHR WA, one of our core missions has always been to provide specialised, confidential, and life-saving harm reduction equipment to everyone across Western Australia—no matter where they live.

Recently, we’ve seen a massive increase in demand for our Statewide Postal NSP service. While we are incredibly glad this service is reaching so many people, the soaring demand means we need to make a few practical adjustments to ensure our service remains reliable and sustainable for the long haul.

To make sure we can continue to fulfill every single request and leave no one in our community without the equipment they need, we are introducing three updates to our postal orders:

Order Limits:
The maximum number of needles and syringes per order will be adjusted from 500 per order down to 300 per order. This new order limit will allow us to streamline the way we package your orders for postage by ensuring they will always fit into one of the Australia Post satchel sizes.

One-for-One Exchange:
Pay for your needles and syringes on your first order, and we’ll treat your future orders like a one-for-one exchange and provide an equal number of needles and syringes for free. You can still access any other equipment from our needle and syringe program at the same cost price available to our fixed site walk-in consumers.

Postage Charges:
We will be introducing flat-rate standard and express postage charges based on the Australia Post satchel size that will fit your order.

Rest assured that PBHR WA remains a strictly not-for-profit service. Every dollar from these postage fees goes directly right back into the cost of shipping your supplies. We don’t make a cent of profit; our only goal is keeping this vital service running smoothly for everyone who relies on it.

Thank you so much for your understanding, your ongoing support, and for looking out for one another. 🖤

👉 Head to our website to check the new postage charges, get more information, and download an updated Postal Service brochure. If you have any questions or need support, please reach out to our team on 9325 8387.

https://harmreductionwa.org/statewide-postal-service/

Our community is made up of many unique people and many different stories.

This Pride month, we’re acknowledging that it’s okay to be exactly who you are. At PBHR WA, we know our diversity is one of our biggest strengths.

As the cold winds begin to bite and the rains settle over the landscape, we enter Makuru—the first of the two cold seasons in the Noongar calendar. Makuru is associated with the colour blue or black, and is a time of transformation. You may see flowering Mangar or Blueberry Lily (Dianella revoluta) and Komma or Purple Flag (Patersonia occidentalis) – both these small plants produce striking blue and purple petals with bright yellow stamens.

Makuru is known as the season of fertility, as at this time of year many animal species begin pairing up. Wardong (ravens) in particular become much more active and vocal as they begin preparing for the breeding season. They become more territorial as they gather nesting materials and scavenge for food. There is also a notable influx of flocks of mali (black swans) on lakes and rivers as they congregate to breed.

Traditionally, as the cold and wet weather began, people would move inland away from the coast. As waterways and catchments started to fill, people could move about their country with ease and the main food sources changed from sea, estuarine, and lake foods to those of the forests, including grazing animals such as the yongar (kangaroo) and several species of wild carrot and wild potato.

Fire was - and is - important during Makuru, but its use shifted. While the warmer months saw largescale landscape burning, Makuru was the time for “cold fires” which were kept constantly burning for warmth and cooking. Carrying the kaal (fire) was essential when moving between camps to ensure the hearth could be quickly relit in the damp weather

Makuru is a time to slow down, seek shelter, and settle in for the winter. It is also a time of replenishment, as country and people prepare for the “second cold” of Djilba that will arrive with August.

Reconciliation is more than a bridge between cultures; it is also about working to repair connections within them. Sometimes, the trauma of the past can translate into lateral violence - when the anger and frustration caused by systemic injustice is turned inward towards family or friends.

This National Reconciliation Week, Deadly Peer Mob Project Worker, Len, wants to send a direct message to mob about what it truly means to be “All In.”

For Len, being “all in” isn’t just about a national movement - it’s about how we treat one another and how we heal the divisions that hold us back.

Len’s message to mob:

“Black fullahs need to reconcile with each other before we can reconcile with everyone else.

There is a history of family fighting and arguing amongst our families and our mobs. That mentality leaves black fullahs walking around in a volatile state and that makes us easy targets for the police. We need to swallow our pride and shake hands with each other to make our community strong enough to be part of a solution.”

Len is calling on everyone to recognise that addressing lateral violence and finding peace within our own circles is an important step toward change. When we move past the volatility and work to support each other, we are leading the way and not just surviving.

This week, we stand with Len and the rest of the community, committing to a reconciliation that starts at home by choosing lateral kindness.

At PBHR WA, we know that healing is something we must pursue together as a community. On this National Sorry Day, we hold space for the families and communities who have been and are still deeply affected by the policies of forced removal.

Harm reduction stems from the belief that every person deserves to be treated equitably and with dignity, and to live in connection with their culture and community. Listening deeply to the stories, experiences, and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people benefits us all in the ongoing work of truth-telling and the dismantling of systems and structures of oppression.

PBHR WA will always be allies in this work.

On IDAHOBIT Day, we reaffirm our commitment to a community where everyone can live free from fear and discrimination. Identity is strength and people are strongest when they can be their authentic self, safely and openly. PBHR WA stands in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ peers and community members.

For International Nurses Day (12th of May), we are spotlighting our Nurse Practitioner Candidate, Julie Byrne-King.

Nurses are an important part of harm reduction. Beyond the wound care and prescriptions, they can bring radical empathy and pragmatism - meeting people exactly where they are and helping us welcome them back to healthcare. Julie embodies this mission every day at PBHR WA, bringing her own eclectic brand of sparkle (actual sequins) along with years of staunch nursing experience that includes regional emergency departments.

Nurses like Julie are the reason our model of care works. By leading with care and clinical expertise, they ensure that health and dignity are never out of reach. We are honoured to have Julie working with us, helping our multidisciplinary team grow and helping us to build a more compassionate, more equitable WA.

Leave a ❤️ for Julie (and all the other nurses in your life) in the comments.