IF one thing was clear from Thursday night’s community forum on methamphetamine use in the Shoalhaven, it was a crushing lack of facilities to help people kick the destructive habit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As the crowd of 70 listened to the treatment options offered by the various local drug and alcohol groups, it became apparent demand for services has totally outstripped supply. For every person who successfully sought treatment, there were many others who did not.
This grim picture is made worse by figures released by the Salvation Army that show a fourfold increase in four years of people seeking treatment through the highly successful Bridge program.
Ice, it seems, has caught everyone on the hop.
As Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis has stressed all along, the only way to beat the epidemic of ice use is to take a whole-of-community approach.
The forum was not without hope, however. For parents caught up in the cycle of their children’s destructive drug habits, support is coming, with the formation of a Family Drug Support network.
Mrs Sudmalis has vowed to seek funding for 10 extra beds for Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm, which will help a few more people beat the ice habit.
The very act of gathering people touched by ice was a positive step in the right direction as well. The sharing of heartbreaking stories from parents made everyone realise they were not alone.
It’s a message that needs to get out. There is no family shame in addiction, no blame, no right or wrong. Once local support is established for families of ice addicts, the battle will be easier to fight. A shared experience is much easier to cope with than one held in isolation.