ONE Mount Isa youth service has refuted claims that not enough is being done to address the issue of Volatile Substance Misuse (VSM) in the community, following recent media coverage of chroming in the city.
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Young People Ahead (YPA) VSM coordinator Liz Toeke said her service worked closely with police and other organisations to respond to youth abusing substances including petrol, paint and deodorant in Mount Isa.
"We run reactive and proactive programs which work with youth between the age of 10 and 17 to not only prevent them from engaging, but also to monitor them after they have engaged and make sure they do not harm themselves or others," Ms Toeke said. "We also provide retailers with education and training to prevent youth accessing deodorant in their stores and do outreach in the community at well-known locations where young people engage or are likely to engage in VSM.
"These approaches are working, but it is not an overnight fix. We know there is an issue in the community, but it is being addressed by several organisations working together," she said.
Ms Toeke urged the community to look beyond the symptom of VSM and the negative behaviours associated with it and actually pause to think about why it is that youth feel they need to inhale a substance to escape their lives.
"Parents, guardians and families also needed to take a more active role in being responsible for their children."
She said more funding would always be welcomed to help youth organisations address VSM, but there was an onus on the community to stand up and help as well.
"People are happy to jump on the bandwagon and say more needs to be done about this issue, but what they should be doing is not simply ignore the issue when they see it happening, and instead do something," Ms Toeke said.