By LACHLAN MOORHEAD AND ANEEKA SIMONIS
PEOPLE battling ice addiction are coming from all across the state – including from the City of Casey – to seek help in Drouin.
It’s here in the outer south-east where the volunteers from The Ice Meltdown Project (TIMP) are working tirelessly to help ice addicts and their families not only pick up the pieces of their lives, but save their lives completely.
In March, Star News reported how TIMP, led by Janice Ablett, acquired a new safe-house in Drouin, a small step toward establishing a larger regional rehabilitation centre.
Every week TIMP holds weekly community meetings in Drouin where families are encouraged to attend and share their experiences of caring for loved ones battling addiction.
One of these families spoke to Star News this week about how much of a difference TIMP had made in their lives, and that of their son and brother who was addicted to ice, since they started attending the meetings earlier this year.
Janice also personally checks in with all the addicts under her care, while a professional doctor is also part of the TIMP team.
This year the group also started petitioning Mental Health Minister Martin Foley for funding to help the project rehabilitate more addicts.
So far the petition has gained the support of almost 2500 people.