A born-and-bred Mount Isa resident, Stephanie King works for JCU’s Mt Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health (MICRRH), focusing on Indigenous health.

Ms King and Leann Shaw volunteer their time to run ‘community yarning circles’ in Mount Isa, informal gatherings where people can talk, knowing they will be heard and supported. 

“People might be struggling with drug and alcohol issues, they might need help but don’t meet the criteria for assistance that’s available. There are lots of gaps,” Ms King said.

Ms King said one of the biggest worries was the rising use of ice and other methamphetamines, with families and communities hurt in the process. 

Ms Shaw said Mount Isa is a crossroads, with many people passing through the regional centre.

“Anything that’s out there will pass through here too. We’ve dealt with concerns over alcohol before, but this is different. A lot of people don’t understand the effects of Ice and other emerging drugs.  For many of the grandparents the worst they’ve had to deal with was Ganja,” she said.

Ms King said the groups had started by seeing people who had been impacted by drugs, with a big demand from Indigenous families needing support. But they soon found there were needs to be met from everyone in the community.

“We’re building families up to be strong, to have the knowledge around drugs, to support each other and to recognise and support family who are struggling with addictions,” she said. 

“We find out how we can best support people, whether that is externally or otherwise, and where there is no process we do our best to support their journey to getting healthy and well.” 

Ms King said they ensured the voice of the community was being heard at all levels. “We have been involved in numerous submissions to the National ICE Taskforce, Australian Parliament law enforcement committees, and mental health drug and alcohol action plans.”