The call in today’s Bay Post/Moruya Examiner for a dedicated drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the Eurobodalla is one many families will echo.
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On so many indicators, regional areas such as the Eurobodalla fall behind.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking are those in the health sector.
The new sub-acute ward and soon-to-open oncology and renal wards at Moruya Hospital are very welcome.
But mental health services - and drug and alcohol addiction falls into that category - lag sorely behind.
Our story about the retirement of long-term mental health Nurse Tina Philip makes that clear.
She will miss her clients, not the system that saw her have to hurry them out the door.
Drug and alcohol worker Steve Jackson has made a strong call for a rehabilitation centre in the shire.
He and others trying to deal with the effects the drug ice is having in the shire are way behind the eight-ball.
If someone needs up to 12 months’ care in order to beat a strongly addictive pattern, family support will be vital.
Anyone who has spent any time working in this sector knows it does little good to treat addiction purely with legislative means.
However, that our candid and brave former user interviewed on page 3 of this edition shows, it is possible to beat it.
It took him eight long months to begin to feel normal.
A rehabilitation facility is desperately needed here, not just for ice users, but for all families affected by drugs and alcohol.
A recent study reported in Fairfax Media highlighted the damage being done to children in households where alcohol use was high.
Intervening now, is the best solution, for their futures.