LNP funds detox facility

$5.49m will help addicts rehabilitate

A FUTURE LNP Government has committed $5.49 million to the funding and establishment of a new detox and rehabilitation centre in Toowoomba, off the back of The Chronicle’s Fair Go campaign earlier this month.

Yesterday’s announcement was music to the ears of Toowoomba’s Jodianne Purcell, who herself struggled to detox for two months before she was able to enter Sunrise Way’s rehabilitation program.

For 15 years, Ms Purcell was living in a drug and alcohol-fuelled nightmare.

Now, with five months of rehabilitation out of the way and the tools Sunrise Way has provided her, she says she’s a “better, stronger, wiser person”.

But taking that crucial step to get in the front door

of the rehab centre was the hard part.

Before anyone can enter a rehabilitation facility, they need to prove they’ve spent a week clean of drugs or alcohol.

“Coming in, it took me about two months to get here. I tried to detox by myself but I couldn’t do it. I failed time and time again detoxing at home by myself,” Ms Purcell said.

Currently, the closest residential detox facility is in

Brisbane.

Yesterday at Sunrise Way, LNP leader Tim Nicholls, flanked by LNP deputy leader Deb Frecklington, and LNP candidates for the surrounding electorates Trevor Watts, David Janetzki and Pat Weir, committed to a state-wide $52.21 million plan to take ice off Queensland’s streets.

As part of the plan, Mr Nicholls committed to funding a crucial detox and rehabilitation centre in

Toowoomba, to the tune of $5.49 million over four years.

The facility will be run by an NGO, with further details - such as who would run it or where it would be situated to be worked out with the local community later on down the track.

Sunrise Way chairman Shane Charles welcomed news of the announcement, saying a detox facility was “critical” to continue the work the organisation was doing in the region.

“We warmly embrace the decision of the LNP to announce some funding. It would be good if they could work in with the Primary Health Network - they’ve been investigating the need for a detox facility in Toowoomba for the past 12-18 months,” he said.

“Ice or alcohol addiction should be a bi-partisan approach and we’d very much welcome the ALP to support a detox centre in Toowoomba.”

PHOTO: MATTHEW NEWTON FUNDING WIN: State LNP leader Tim Nicholls, with (left) deputy leader Deb Frecklington and (right) Sunrise Way worker Cheryl Calder, listening to (far right) Jodianne Purcell's story of rehabilitation at Sunrise Way yesterday. INSET: The Chronicle’s...