Melbourne school next to Richmond drug injection centre sparks mothers’ fury

One man has been found dead and another caught flashing at children after a drug injection room opened next door to a suburban Melbourne primary school.  

And a mother-of-two has revealed how she has to run a gauntlet of drug users and pools of vomit and blood whenever she picks up her children.

Victoria state government officials horrified some parents when they approved the trendy drug injection centre to open next door to Richmond West Primary School.

Now a catalogue of shocking incidents around the school has been revealed, including a couple appearing to have sex on the school grounds and the school being put into emergency lockdown twice within a week. 

A mother of two has revealed how she has to run a gauntlet of fear to dodge junkies shooting up in pools of vomit and blood whenever she picks up her children

A mother of two has revealed how she has to run a gauntlet of fear to dodge junkies shooting up in pools of vomit and blood whenever she picks up her children

Another man was caught with drugs on school grounds, while one man tried to force his way inside the school, then circled threateningly outside after he was kicked out. 

Local mum Elena Markushina admits she’s terrified just taking her two sons Roman, 11, and Max, 9, to and from the school, which has since beefed up its security.

‘I couldn’t believe it when they said they were putting it there,’ she told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘They are exposing primary school children who are very young and very vulnerable to this kind of thing. You don’t know what they are going to see now.’

Local mum Elena Markushina admits she's terrified just taking her two sons Roman, 11, and Max, 9, (pictured) to and from the school, which has since beefed up its security

Local mum Elena Markushina admits she’s terrified just taking her two sons Roman, 11, and Max, 9, (pictured) to and from the school, which has since beefed up its security

She says she has to walk past the nearby car park on the way to school and it is littered with drug users injecting themselves and fighting with each other.

And on the way back the paralegal and law graduate has to push past a pack of intimidating drug addicts crowding outside the injection room.

Ms Markushina says the arrival of the drug injection room in 2018 has traumatised her, leaving her constantly anxious and on edge.

‘My child is autistic – he doesn’t always understand what is going on around him or follow instructions,’ she admitted. ‘It’s scary. Very scary for kids.

‘But I can’t show any fear because they are very sensitive to that and will get upset if I’m upset.

‘So I have to pretend this is all fine, this is all cool as junkies shoot up with all the needles and blood and vomit and all this crap around.

‘But this is not normal. These people are shady characters, they’re unpredictable. 

‘They make me feel very uncomfortable – they might well be nice but they look strange and I don’t know what to expect from them.’

Victoria state government officials horrified parents when they approved the trendy drug injection centre to open next door to Richmond West Primary School.

Victoria state government officials horrified parents when they approved the trendy drug injection centre to open next door to Richmond West Primary School.

She lives in fear of her children injuring themselves from discarded syringes or being attacked by a desperate junkie during their twice daily trips.

‘You can’t have your husband with you all the time,’ she said. ‘And my youngest child used to like to pick up sticks – I’m terrified he will pick up a syringe instead,

‘I can’t watch him every second.’

The Russian-born immigrant says she now can’t face returning to the local health centre attached to the drug injecting room.

‘It used to be so nice and inviting and sparkling clean with a great atmosphere, but not any more,’ she says. ‘I’ll need to be dead before I go back there now.

‘There’s sick on the ground, they spit on the ground, they vomit on the ground – it’s very uncomfortable and stressful for me.’

She says the school did not oppose the location of the injection room when it was first proposed, despite the fears of parents.

But Ms Markushina insists she does not want it closed down – just moved somewhere more appropriate.

Russian-born immigrant Elena Markushina, pictured here with children Max (left) and Roman and husband Kon, says taking her kids to and from school is threatening and stressful now

Russian-born immigrant Elena Markushina, pictured here with children Max (left) and Roman and husband Kon, says taking her kids to and from school is threatening and stressful now

‘Before it opened, we would have junkies trying to break into the laundry in our housing commission block and we would find them shooting up inside,’ she said.

‘That sort of thing has now stopped since the injection room opened. We want its work to continue – but just somewhere more sensible than beside a school.’

Victoria Police said they had mounted high profile policing in the area and a recent three-day special operation to target drug-related crime in the area, resulting in 20 arrests for crimes ranging from heroin trafficking, armed robbery, theft and drug possession.

A spokesman added: ‘Any incident of criminal activity, including people exposing themselves or taking drugs in public, is a concern to Victoria Police.

‘Everyone in the community deserves to go about their daily lives without being subjected to crime, especially children.

‘Local police continue to work hard to disrupt drug related crime in the Richmond area.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria’s State Education Department for comment.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10811815/Melbourne-school-Richmond-drug-injection-centre-sparks-mothers-fury.html