Griffith Hosts Drug Summit

Griffith drug and alcohol services and residents attended the NSW Drug Summit Regional Forum in Griffith last week.

At that forum it was announced that the Government had pledged $9.84 million for alcohol and drug treatment services in the Murrumbidgee region.

Independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton said it was great to see the Government putting its money where its mouth was when it came to this issue.

“One of the saddest things to see is when a person asks for help but can’t get it,” Ms Dalton said.

“This funding will go a long way to ensuring many more people can access the treatment services they need in order to turn their lives around.

“Not only is this funding substantial, it is also targeted.

“I am sure that the more we do in this area, the more lives can be saved and massively improved.”

The $9.84 million will fund:

$3.6 million for programs designed for people leaving custody;

$2 million for community-based withdrawal management, case management and counselling services for vulnerable populations; and

$4.24 million for a new youth day program and counselling service.

Griffith Local Health Advisory Committee Chair Margaret King said the highlight of the summit was definitely the announcement of the funding.

“There’s been a significant amount of funding released,” Ms King said.

“A lot of concerns raised were around access to services - what services were available and how to access them.

“Drug and alcohol is tricky - it’s an individual affected, but their family is affected, too.

“It is not just one person who needs support.

“It needs to be holistic support.

“Timeframes are tricky due to shortages of services and waits are always too long.

“If somebody reaches out for help, they need it then and there.

“They don’t need to be told that there could be a two-week wait.

“We need to get them support before we lose them.”

Ms King said that people also had to transition from one facility to another and the transfer wasn’t always smooth.

“Murrumbidgee is such a big area, with many services doing outreach,” she said.

“Outreach might be one day a month or via teleconference, which is good, but not ideal.

“It’s just the vast distances they have to cover.

“It’s very different from the city.

“It’s the tyranny of distance.

“I’m really positive about the Summit.

“There were four ministers there on the day and they listened.”

Ms King said that a report from the Griffith Summit would be done and the same would be done for the three remaining Summits to be held before being presented to the Government.

“We want to see some more action; that it wasn’t just tokenistic,” Ms King said.

“It really has to have outcomes.

“It was fantastic to have the Summit in Griffith.

“When you have Griffith identified it can be a good or bad thing.

“It’s good that it’s not always Wagga and Albury, and those bigger towns.”

People travelled from as far away as Brewarrina and Broken Hill to attend the Summit.

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• Health & Wellbeing