NEW methamphetamine workshops will be rolled out across the South West region early next year.
Mental Health Minister Andrea Mitchell announced on Thursday that the School Drug Education and Road Aware workshops would support teachers, parents and others wanting more information about meth and its potential harms.
"Through these workshops, parents and teachers in the community who have a concern or interest will be able to obtain accurate information about meth, the possible consequences of its use and what can be done to reduce harm and prevent use by students," Ms Mitchell said.
SDERA received $500,000 to develop and deliver the new meth-focused workshops and other school resources as a key initiative of the $14.9 million Western Australian Meth Strategy 2016, announced by the State Government in the May State Budget.
“As a government, we have increased spending into the mental health portfolio by 83 per cent since 2008, but what we recognise that we need to do better in is direct these funds into the right places and connect people to the services,” Vasse MP Libby Mettam said.
“This funding and these proposed meth workshops will be just another tool in the tool kit if you like, to try and address the significant challenges that we face as a community in addressing methamphetamine.”
Choose Respect Busselton chairperson Christine Ravenscroft said the meth workshops and subsequent training and education would benefit all.
“This Region of the South West will benefit from the additional resource of the Meth Helpline, however ‘on the ground or personal people and services’ is what the local people are really looking for – somewhere, someone, that/who they can go to for specific help with the meth and ice situation,” she said.
Six of SDERA's Talking Drugs workshops have already been held in Busselton, Manjimup, Bunbury and Dalyellup, with a total of 59 school staff and 103 parents participating.
More than 100 parents and teachers have already registered an interest in attending the first of the new meth-focused workshops to be held in Collie in January 2017.
The complete calendar of workshops for 2017 is currently being finalised.
