Drug Injecting Services in Canterbury Trust (DISC) is Aotearoa’s leading harm reduction service delivering the broadest range of services in the country.

We work to enhance the health and well-being of people who inject and use drugs by providing world leading harm reduction practice.

DISC is one of three providers of the New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme. We operate seven needle exchanges across Te Waipounamu (two in Ōtautahi Christchurch) and one each in Whakatu Nelson, Hakatere Ashburton, Timaru, Ōtepoti Dunedin, Waihopai Invercargill and a mobile service in Te Tai Poutini West Coast, two health services (Ōtautahi Christchurch and Ōtepoti Dunedin), static and mobile hepatitis C screening and treatment in Te Waipounamu and Te Tai Tokerau Northland and a national drug checking service in Ōtepoti Dunedin , Ōtautahi Christchurch and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

We also deliver the national pharmacy needle exchange programme covering 200 pharmacies across Aotearoa, alongside hauora Māori services and other community-based providers.

We advocate for the interests of people who inject and use drugs, working to remove the stigma of drug use, and build harm reduction knowledge and understanding in our sector and communities. We strive to partner with a range of organisations, across different sectors, to support our work, either to co-deliver services, conduct research, or to reach isolated communities.

We are a peer-based organisation, committed to a health and human rights-based service approach for people who use drugs. We follow a harm reduction model based on empathy and non-judgment, working with people where they are at and however, they understand their drug use.

We have an established credibility and trust within our community. We provide a safe space for people who inject and use drugs and are an important source of information and advice.

Staff

We are unique. We are a peer-led community-based organisation. Many of our staff and volunteers have either current or lived experience of injecting drugs. Not only does this mean our services are delivered with empathy and understanding from people who have shared experiences, it also provides opportunity for the community to get involved in a service that means something to them and will benefit others.

One of DISCs locations is the Rodger Wright Centre in Ōtautahi Christchurch; a significant facility dedicated to providing harm reduction advice and support. It operates a needle exchange, drug checking and health services providing vital resources to people who use drugs.

History and Background

The Rodger Wright Centre is named in honour of Rodger Wright, a well-known figure in the harm reduction community in New Zealand. Wright was a passionate advocate for the rights and health of people who use drugs and was instrumental in establishing harm reduction services in the country. At a time when it took exceptional courage to do so he declared himself to be HIV positive, an injecting drug user and a homosexual. Rodger died in 1993.

The Rodger Wright Centre became a cornerstone of these efforts in Christchurch, offering not only needle exchange services but also support, education, and advocacy for people who use drugs. Over the years, the Centre has expanded its services to include hepatitis C screening and treatment, overdose prevention, drug checking and referrals to other health and social services.

Through its ongoing work, the Rodger Wright Centre honours the memory of Rodger Wright and his commitment to harm reduction, ensuring that his vision for a more compassionate and supportive society lives on.

About our service

• We deliver 30,000 client engagements every year
• We serve an estimated 5,000-7,000 whai ora throughout Te Waipounamu
• The estimated number of whai ora across Aotearoa is between 12,000-18,000
• Of our whai ora, it is estimated that up to 23% are Māori
• 40% of all needles distributed throughout Aotearoa are distributed by DISC Trust
• People who inject drugs are five times more likely to seek treatment and rehabilitation if they are using a needle and syringe programme.

Cost Benefit

• In 2021, the national needle exchange programme cost $5.88 million to run and provided estimated benefits of $39.9 million through reducing the burden and its associated costs on the NZ health system. Those estimated benefits are the costs associated with HIV, hepatitis B and C infection, and injection-related injuries, if the service wasn’t available.
• This equates to $6.79 in benefits (including prevented future costs) for our public health system from every dollar spent on the programme.