Whether it’s your own drinking or drug use, or someone you love, Drug ARM’s free support doesn’t ask you to have it all figured out before you ask for help.
There’s a common belief that you have to hit rock bottom, or be ready to quit for good, before you’re allowed to ask for help with alcohol or other drugs. Drug ARM’s workers across Queensland spend their days proving otherwise.
“You have to be a chameleon,” says clinical worker Sam Kawane Jnr, who has spent close to a decade supporting people in the community he grew up in. “Everyone is different, and every story is different.”
That idea sits at the heart of Drug ARM’s work. Some people want to stop. Some want to cut back or feel more in control. Some simply aren’t sure yet. Every one of those ideas is a valid reason to start, and nothing needs to be worked out or set in stone before making the first phone call.
Sam’s sessions have happened while pushing a trolley through the supermarket, sitting in a dinghy and on the highway out west. Many of his clients first came to him through the courts. Many later came back on their own.
In St George, clinical worker Ben Chan says lasting change comes from walking alongside people, not lecturing them.
“You can’t just tell someone to do it,” he said. “You have to set the example, without doing it for them.”
Help isn’t only for the person using. In Roma, Family Case Worker Melissa Summons supports parents, partners and friends through Drug ARM’s Breakthrough for Families program. Families learn practical tools for communication, boundaries and for looking after themselves. Many don’t see themselves as needing help, she says, and stigma can keep them quiet for years.
“It’s giving people the tools, not doing it for them,” she said.
Drug ARM’s support is free, funded by Queensland Health and the Western Queensland Primary Health Network, with help from community and philanthropic partners. It’s confidential and non-judgemental, and available in person, through outreach, by phone and via telehealth across many parts of Queensland. Your loved one doesn’t need to be getting help for you to reach out.
The first step doesn’t have to be a big one. Open the gate and talk to the team at https://www.drugarm.com.au/start-the-conversation.
