Our front page story regarding the failure of two accused to enter rehabiliation will strike a chord with many readers.
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Some will condemn the actions of both.
Others, including the many parents of those caught up in the ugly world of addiction, will wish once again for rehabilitation facilities closer to home for Eurobodalla people.
Residential rehabilitation can help those who genuinely are trying to free themselves from serious addiction.
However, those in the field say that 12 months in-house rehabilitation is needed for those addicted to ice, due to the power of the drug and the change in behaviour it has wrought on addicts.
Where three months’ of rehabilitation might be enough, in the first instance at least, for those addicted to other substances or to alcohol, those on the frontline of the ice addiction say more time is needed.
The Eurobodalla needs a rehabiliation facility closer to our shire.
Addicts trying to break their habits need the support of family and “clean” friends.
Leaving the shire for 12 months, assuming they can get a place in a facility elsewhere, might be the best thing for some addicts, allowing them to break unhealthy friendship and dependence patterns.
However, it might not be OK for others.
Families wishing to support their loved ones through treatment now face the extra stress and expense of travelling to Queanbeyan or Nowra to visit them.
Ice has ravaged regional towns and centres in NSW.
Many shires, including our own, need more resources to help addicts get back on track and rebuild their lives.
Otherwise we risk a continuing cycle of addiction, criminal offending and jail.
A bi-partisan push for such services, as well as out-patient facilities, is needed.
On a lighter note, the newly formed Mogo Village Business Chamber is hoping to establish chess tournaments on an outdoor board in an effort to bring more visitors to the highway precinct.
It’s a great plan and we wish them the best.
Visitors to Wollongong may have noticed the outdoor chessboard near a popular mall.
It was always a fun stopping point, even for non-players.
The keen contests amongst many different migrant communties were entertainment in themselves.
May a chess master step up for Mogo.
