Ray of hope for young drug addicts
THE life of a 12-year-old girl was changed the moment one of her family members introduced her to drugs, setting off a series of events that would leave her broken and addicted to ice.
The young Townsville girl was introduced to marijuana when she was just 12 years old, and quickly progressed to party pills and LSD.
Before she knew it, the now 16-year-old was using ice and her life was in ruins.
The girl is one of many young people who have come back from the brink thanks to non-government organisation Australian Anti Ice Campaign, which helps meth users turn their lives around.
A visit from chief executive Andrea Simmons and her team at the girl’s Townsville school changed her life.
The teenager has since moved away from Townsville, is back at school fulltime, has not used drugs, and wants to study community service at university so that she can help her remote North Queensland hometown with drug issues she has seen first-hand.
Ms Simmons said seeing their clients progress was fulfilling. “We talk to thousands of kids to try to keep them from touching this insidiously addictive and destructive drug,” she said.
“We truly believe, from the feedback from students and teachers that we are able to impact their attitudes and behaviour around ice, however, it is difficult to measure that impact.”
The group, whose workshops are funded by the Rotary movement, has helped multiple men and women in Townsville overcome their addiction, including a pregnant woman who was staring down the barrel of jail.
She heard about the group earlier this year and reached out for help. The woman in her 20s had been using meth for five years and was three months pregnant.
She was risking jail time over drug charges, was effectively homeless and unable to find a rehabilitation centre which would take on a pregnant drug user.
Ms Simmons stepped in right away, flew the woman to Brisbane and into a rehabilitation centre where she got clean.
“When we can help someone out of addiction and actually see the results in terms of actual lives saved, this is amazing,” Ms Simmons said.
“Recovery from ice addiction is a long and often fruitless journey and every one we can save makes all the struggles of getting this charity started and functioning worthwhile.”
The group hopes to change more lives this week through their latest batch of Townsville workshops open to both adults and children.
Workshop presenters will weave their own personal stories of addiction into an evidence-based program, talk about how to communicate the risk of meth, how to prevent it, and the risk of using it just once.
They also hope to recruit people become a part of the program to create a lasting impact in Townsville.
The workshop is on September 15 at Ryan Catholic Community Centre from 6pm.