FDS Insight Magazine Jun - Sep 2023

7 excluded them from their person’s care, family holidays that their loved ones couldn’t attend due to convictions, their struggles keeping their people safe, and above all their unwavering love and support for their children. Feedback from those who attended on the day indicated that they felt inspired to advocate for change and were hopeful for a better future for families and individuals impacted by substance use. One family member who attended shared their thanks and stated that ‘Today will be the first day of my OWN recovery journey as I keep loving my son’. Alaistair Gibson, Ken Streeter, Olja Savic, Dan Nguyen, Alana Boulton, Toni Eachus, Louise Delaney, Natasha Stapleton and Anna Daglish. SA – Adelaide – 22 February he South Australian IFDSD 2023 was held on 22 February in Parliament House Adelaide. Hosted by The Hon. Chris Picton, Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the event was attended by over 35 community members, comprised of families, AOD sector workers and politicians. The first of the guest speakers was Chris Picton MP, who spoke of the important role FDS has in helping families to remain resilient, while dealing with a loved one’s substance use. He referred to the additional funding given to us by the SA Labor Government and how it has allowed us to expand our reach to further assist those families. We then welcomed our family member, Caroline, to the lectern. She gave an honest and emotional account of how life has been for her while supporting her daughter. It was clear that her powerful words impacted everyone in the room. Robert Simms MLC, Leader of the Greens, spoke very eloquently about the need for change in regard to harm reduction and how the ‘war on drugs’ was a huge failure. Debby Kadarusman from Sonder talked with passion of a former client who was able to get her addiction to a level of controlled use, only to find her family expected abstinence and continued to be disconnected from her. Thus, outlining the need for a change in societal expectation of abstinence over harm reduction. Penny Pratt MP, Shadow Minister for Mental Health & Suicide Prevention was next to the lecturn. Being very new to her role, she spoke in general about families and the need to provide them with support. She commented on how powerful both Caroline and Debby’s stories were. Our final speaker for the event was Sally Underdown, State Manager SA/NT Alcohol & Drug Foundation. Sally talked of her organisation’s T