Substance addiction can affect anyone, anywhere, and in any life situation regardless of who they are or where they come from.
Lives Lived Well’s Brisbane south manager Grant Robin oversees the Logan House rehab centre.
“It’s a hard question to answer because the need is pervasive, we have people in our various programs who come from all walks of life,” he said.
The city of Logan has been unfairly represented in the media for being a hotspot for illicit drug use and addiction.
These kinds of generalisations linking certain people or places with addictions are flawed, Mr Robin said.
“We run a day clinic out at Woolloongabba where we’re working with lawyers, tradesmen, all types of community members – this thing does not discriminate, I’ll give you that tip.”
He said it is important to recognise the circumstances that sway someone down an addiction path.
“You see a range of things – trauma, homelessness, abuse, domestic violence, or people through misfortune of their addictions have acquired brain injuries,” he said.
It is not as simple at telling someone to “pull their socks up” because the issue is not that simple, he added.
Tarun Stevenson, a pastor for Authentic Church in Meadowbrook who does community outreach with people affected by addictions, said all ages are impacted.
“I’ve encountered people of many ages, right from teenagers all the way up to their 40s and 50s,” he said.
He would like to see more support services in place for people who are older.
“I know there’s a huge deficit of recovery centres for older people because, anecdotally, I see more of an emphasis on addictions being an issue of young people,” he said.
Mr Robin sees the future of rehab programs offering more shorter programs for people, and for more services to expand online following the adoption of remote services during COVID-19.
“It [the pandemic] had some silver linings, it gave us the opportunity to explore those online platforms and find more opportunity to meet people more regularly,” he said.
Lives Lived Well runs both short- and long-term programs, where they work with both the individual and their families to overcome whatever they are dealing with. But he said the key going forward will be shorter, more flexible initiatives.
“The reality is that no one wants to stay in a rehab centre any longer than they need to,” he said.
