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Many thanks to Richard Smith for taking notes on my behalf! ☺ Franz.Rev John Brook, from St John's Crisis Centre, spoke about his organization which helps with Alcohol and Drugs. John was a psychiatric nurse and plays guitar to relax. Alcohol has the greatest impact with only 5% of people who attend AA remaining sober. He holds three narcotic meetings at the centre.
Of the people who attempt to give up smoking only 17.5% make it. A pack of 25 cost $25 to $30 and a pack of 50 cost $50. By 2020 it will be over $40 for a pack of 25 - John's view is that the government is exploiting addiction. Homeless Australians – (there are 116,427) with an increase of over 40% in the last 5 years. The centre is required to advise the department of child safety if they find a child under 12 who is homeless. The largest causes of homelessness are domestic and family violence and family breakdown. The latter being the cause of youth homelessness. John said 40% of Australians live below the poverty line and the New Start Allowance has not increased in 25 years. There were many more statistics given by John.
The Centre does Christmas lunches and hampers and our Club helps by providing toys. They also provide laundry, showers, toilets, shelter, and medical services and want to add legal assistance. He said that once a person gets a roof over their head half of their problem being either drugs or alcohol disappears. Click here to obtain more information on the St Johns Crisis Centre, which also provides contact details.