A REDLAND Bay resident who struggled to find help for a friend addicted to drugs says addiction should be treated as an illness, with more resources pumped into support and awareness.
Scott Trigger said he tried to help his friend get into a hospital detox program, required for entry into a rehabilitation facility, but there was a wait time of more than two weeks because there were few beds.
There was also no space in homeless shelters.
“His parents and siblings wanted nothing to do with him (because) ice is a monster drug and when you are on it, you turn into something you are not,” Mr Trigger said.
“He decided to self-detox and was assaulted that night while sleeping in a bus shelter.”
“Community is important. It’s about acceptance and giving people a purpose in their lives."
- Former drug dealer and addict Glenn Munso
Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman said there also had been an increase in the number of children who needed protection because of ice use by parents.
“Ice use continues to be a problem,” Ms Fentiman said. “...We make no apology for being tough on parents who do the wrong thing and the latest data shows just how quickly ice use can cause terrible damage to children and families.”
Speaking on Thursday at a community meeting called by Bowman MP Andrew Laming on ice in the Redlands, Mr Trigger said drug and alcohol addiction needed to be viewed as a sickness, not a crime.
The Cage founder Linda Grieve said she was leading a process to get federal government funding for a local drug forum.
She said it would enable organisations and individuals to work together to help addicts and their families.
Former drug dealer and addict Glenn Munso spoke about the Youth You Program he had developed to help with addiction.
He warned young people that drug addiction would lead to them being in jail or a psychiatric ward or dead.
There was also a ripple effect on the family.
The Melbourne-based gym owner has written a book Drugs do not discriminate about his experiences and the program.
He said people who abused drugs were individuals and should not be viewed just as addicts.
“Community is important. It’s about acceptance and giving people a purpose in their lives,” he said.
Former addict Dom Shelley from Family Drug Support said they had support groups for families affected by alcohol and drugs.
Other speakers were from QuIHN, which provides services in Redlands and on Moreton Bay islands, The Addictive World in Sheldon and Headspace.
Ice is ongoing problem for families: Minister
CHILD Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman says there has been an increase in the number of children who need protection because of ice use by parents.
“Ice use continues to be a problem and more parents are being tested so we can identify those families where ice is causing harm,” Ms Fentiman said.
“We make no apology for being tough on parents who do the wrong thing and the latest data shows just how quickly ice use can cause terrible damage to children and families.”
The minister said data showed how rapidly ice caused terrible damage to families and left vulnerable children at risk.
“The data shows that the majority of children where parental ice use was recorded the parent had only recently started abusing the drug,” she said.
“This shows just how devastating this drug is and that is why we are doing so much to target the use of this particular drug so we can tackle the harm it is causing head-on.”
A specialist ice advisor was being recruited to provide expert support and advice for child safety workers.
The data
The new data also shows that in 12 months to March 2017:
- For 33 per cent of children (a total of 782 children) admitted to ongoing intervention the department identified methamphetamine use by one or both parents in the household.
- Among these families, methamphetamine use was more common than abuse of any other drug, including alcohol. Ten years ago alcohol was the most abused substance, followed by marijuana and heroin.
- In homes where methamphetamine use was identified, more than half of the children (55 per cent) were subjected to neglect. Almost a third (31 per cent) had suffered emotional harm and 13 per cent had suffered physical harm.
- For 60 percent of children where parental ice use was recorded, the families had recently begun using the illicit drug.
Anyone concerned about a family’s situation can contact Family and Child Connect for advice by phoning 13 Family or 13 32 64.