Years of drug misuse are written all over Sharmain's face.

So much so that she is self-conscious about her smile.

"I try to be a good person but when people snuff you like that you kind of feel like shit."

The 29-year-old mother is two months into her treatment program.

The average wait to enter rehab in regional NSW is three months but Sharmain had to wait eight months to get in, during a harrowing time where she spiralled chasing voices that weren't there.

"I did just sit there wasting away, just doing drugs, smoking pot, getting back on the ice, I could have overdosed.

"And it's not a joke, we need more support in that way."

Sharmain is one of 23 residents at Freeman House — a live-in support centre run by St Vincent de Paul in Armidale – and fighting to get her son back.

"When I had [my son] I did try to get off the drugs myself, and I honestly thought I was there, but the courts and child services, said 'no, you need you need to go rehab'," she said.

Data paints a bleak picture

On any given day in NSW 1,800 people are waiting to get into NGO-support services, namely detox and rehab clinics. 

That number doesn't account for the people waiting to get into public-run facilities, so the true number is estimated to be much higher.

In 2022-23 almost 28,000 people received treatment in NSW for their own alcohol or drug use, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Fifty-six per cent of all clients in NSW had previously received treatment from a service since 2013–14.

Of those cases, alcohol was the principal drug of concern (44 per cent), followed by amphetamines (23 per cent), cannabis (15 per cent) and heroin (7 per cent).

Out of the 478 support agencies in NSW, only 175 are in regional or remote areas.

They are statistics that Robert Stirling, CEO of the Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (NADA) says must be improved.

"We hear lots of experiences of people where they might have called five residential services and be on a wait list, trying to hedge their bet of who is going to have a bed, and that's a pretty sad state of affairs," Mr Stirling told 7.30.

NADA is the peak organisation for non-government alcohol and other drugs (AOD) services in NSW, which commissioned new research ahead of the NSW Drug Summit.

It found the people waiting longest were those seeking withdrawal (detox) in a community residential setting, followed by residential rehabilitation services, with many waiting more than three months to access treatment.

"We know that first contact is critically important, and if we're not able to support them in that moment, they may not come back for that support for months or years," Mr Stirling told 7.30.

At Freeman House, Sharmain tells us she has "seen it happen".

"They're trying to get in here, they're trying to get a room, they go through detox and go back out [into the community] and they lapse again," she told 7.30.

The regional rehab reality

At Freeman House the demand is unrelenting.

180 people are on the waitlist.

They have nine empty rooms, but without more funding, they can't bring anyone in.

"This room here, would be someone's dream right now," Regional Manager Jessica Toole said.

"Their safe space to come instead of going elsewhere looking for drugs."

Freeman House's rehabilitation rooms cost $75,000 a year to run; the detox rooms – which require 24/7 clinical care staff – cost more than double.

A major issue faced by all operators in NSW, is the "cumbersome" funding models.

Ms Toole says she often feels restricted by red tape, inflexible KPIs, and is constrained by time spent report writing.

"We're always doing reports, and we've got different KPIs for each funding stream. So it also means that we also have gaps in the funding as well," she said.

Ms Toole said her colleagues and others in the sector, across regional NSW, face similar issues.

"I try and remind people that everybody on our wait list is someone's daughter, someone's son, someone's mother, someone's father, there's someone there that cares about that person and wants that person to get better."

Russell Webb is the Nursing Team Leader at Freeman House and says politicians need to put people before policy.

"If politicians could think, when they're making policies or when they're speaking to the public, virtue signalling and so forth, about these people as if they are just people, their healthcare journey would be a lot better," Mr Webb said.

Indigenous operators concerned

For many Aboriginal Health service operators, there's a sense of disappointment that Indigenous people weren't listed as a priority population for the summit.

"It does blow your mind because it seems really short-sighted," explains Danielle Manton, Chair of The Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Residential Rehabilitation Network.

Joe Coyte is the director of the Glen Group, which runs two of the state's largest Aboriginal community-controlled rehab centres for men and women.

As a veteran in the sector and a consultant to other regional operators, he expected an invitation, but only received one after pushing the health department.

"My concern at the moment, really no one seems to know much about the drug summit," Mr Coyte told 7.30.

"I think the regional forums need to have people, especially elders, in the community ... from all of NSW. I hope that's what we've got as we start to attend these forums that are in Griffith and Lismore."

Drug and Alcohol Policy Reform to follow Summit

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park says he wants to hear the experiences and issues of those dealing with addiction and struggling to get help.

He has faced much criticism over the drug summit, which came as an election promise. Sceptics say the summit will not yield results and only add to the stigma and stereotyping already suffered by drug users.

"Look, I can understand in public life, whenever a politician says that they want to sit down and engage with the community, people can be sceptical. But the reality is, for me, this is the way I like to do things," Minister Park told 7.30.

"My top priority coming into the summit, is how we try and close that gap in terms of service delivery.

"Are we using the money in the best way possible? Is government keeping too much of it and not giving it to the NGO sector? These are in depth conversations that I want to have."

Commencing on Friday the summit will be split into four sessions – two in regional cities, Griffith and Lismore, and two in Sydney.

Mr Park revealed to 7.30 it will guide the development of a new drug and alcohol framework for the state.

'Months, not years' for new strategy

The most recent strategy – called 'The NSW Health Drug and Alcohol Plan 2006 – 2010' expired 14 years ago.

"We've got a responsibility now, as a relatively new government, to have this [new plan] in place and to use it as a guiding light going forward," Minister Park said.

"These are things that we as legislators need to have a conversation with the community about, not to have a talkfest, but to make sure that we are all, as legislators, up to date and informed with the latest reforms, with the latest ideas around initiatives, legislation and filling service gaps.

Despite the commitment, there are still "mixed views" from within the sector.

"While many are hopeful of positive outcomes based on the 1999 drug summit, others are skeptical that there will be meaningful change", NADA CEO Robert Stirling said.

"NADA is happy to hear that the current government intends to prioritise the development of a [drug and alcohol] plan.

"The absence of a plan has meant that it's been unclear what the government is doing to improve the lives of people impacted by drug and alcohol related-harms – and perhaps that it's not really a priority."

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