By Jena Carr
The mother of a man who died of an overdose in April has thanked Western Health doctors for the care they provided her son.
Debbie Brady wrote a letter to staff at Footscray Hospital after her 34-year-old son, Jye Vessey, was found dead on April 28 while accessing the Corio Community Health Centre’s needle and syringe program.
Ms Brady said the doctors “were beautiful to Jye” while he battled drug addiction and a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Her “heartfelt” letter, which “was written on a notepad that probably had spelling mistakes”, was read out at an International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31) meeting.
“One day, I was thinking about it, and I felt the need to write a letter to them to thank them for the care they gave Jye,” she said.
“International Overdose Awareness Day was coming up, which I wasn’t even aware there was one, and they asked if they could read out the letter in one of their big meetings.
“They said that as soon as they started reading the letter, everybody in the room stopped and the person reading it got emotional.”
Ms Brady is calling for more Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms (MSIR) and has started a petition to provide people with more safe injecting spaces in Victoria.
“People self-medicate if they’re not treated, and sometimes some can’t talk to their family,” she said.
“A safe injecting room tunnels these people into the services they need, and it’s not just good for them, but it’s good for the community in saving our resources.
“It is not just about the drug addict either. It is about keeping it away from the community so children are not walking in a park and catching someone doing it.”
An MSIR previously opened in North Richmond in 2018 and is an ongoing service that has safely managed more than 7000 overdoses, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
The foundation’s data found that more than one person died a month from a heroin overdose in Melbourne between 2020-22, the highest number of deaths among the state’s local government areas.
Ms Brady’s daughter Ebony Siemienowicz said her brother was “one in a very large statistic” and that more MSIRs would prevent other families from going through what they went through.
“It’s about everybody else that is still living and trying to prevent another death,” she said.
“We’ve spoken to a few people, and some lie about how their children die because of the stigma and the backlash of losing a child.
“Losing your child and then having to lie about why your child died, is disgusting. If someone lost a child, you grieve and feel empathy for that person, regardless of how that happened.”
Barwon Health’s Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol Services clinical director, Professor Steve Moylan, said the health care provider was open to learning from North Richmond’s MSIR outcomes.
“Barwon Health is supportive of any evidence-based measures that could further reduce the harms from drug and alcohol use,” he said.
“The needle syringe and naloxone program with drug and alcohol counselling are all aimed at helping people in our community minimise any harm they could experience from substance use.”
Jye’s family urged anyone who would like to show their support for another MSIR in Victoria to sign the petition at chng.it/rkw2wRmDgy.
Help is available with crisis support service Lifeline on 13 11 14, through alcohol and drug counselling service DirectLine on 1800 888 236 or visit barwonhealth.org.au/mhdas for more 24/7 support providers.
