Widespread alcohol addiction has frayed the social fabric of Alice Springs. But frontline services fear a far greater threat is looming in the outback town – meth.
It's almost midnight as Jeremy McKellar winds his way through the streets of Alice Springs.
People spill out of bars, swarming the sidewalks as he passes.
Blue and red police lights flash along street corners.
Jeremy drives the bus for Drug and Alcohol Services Australia, a local addiction service.
This is one of three trips he'll make to the emergency department tonight, picking up anyone in need of a safe place to sober up.
For the Barkindji man, it's a deeply personal job.
"I actually grew up in a house that was run by methamphetamines," Jeremy says.
"Being one of the only people in my family that shied away from drugs and alcohol, I find it extremely satisfying to be able to help people with their journey."
Pulling up at the hospital, Jeremy ushers a group onto the bus.
They'll sleep at DASA's sobering up shelter tonight, freeing up beds at the town's already overwhelmed health service.
Back at the shelter, people hand over their phones for safekeeping, change into fresh pyjamas and head to bed.
A quiet comes over the hall.
DASA runs the only sobering up shelter in Alice Springs, a town where per capita liquor consumption is among the highest in the country.
And while the scourge of alcohol is DASA's main concern, there are fears a hidden, more sinister threat is lurking the streets of Alice Springs.
'Hopeless, depression, stress'
Toni McLaughlin can still remember the moment she first tried meth.
It was 2014, and the Arrernte, Kaytetye, Narungga and Ngarrindjeri woman was battling alcohol addiction in the wake of a painful break-up.
"Hopeless, depression, stress, frustration. Everything," she says.
It was at that time Toni discovered ice – and a clarity she hadn't felt for years.
She was able to clean the house and organise her day.
"I felt more lighter. I didn't feel no depression," she says.
But as the years passed, the insidious drug tightened its grip.
Before she knew it, Toni was homeless and dabbling in crime to pay for her addiction.
Alone at rock bottom, Toni reached out for a lifeline.
Last year she attended DASA's three-month residential rehab program, which set her on the path towards healing.
"It's gonna take time," she says.
"But I'll get there."
The hidden threat
Crystal methamphetamine, or "ice", has long had a presence in Alice Springs.
It's always been considered a peripheral issue compared to alcohol addiction, but recently DASA has noticed a disturbing change.
"We have seen a shift from non-Indigenous people to Indigenous people [using methamphetamines]," DASA chief executive Eloise Page says.
"And we have seen an increase in Aboriginal men using methamphetamines."
DASA's meth outreach team says young people are falling prey to the drug.
"They have observed young children, 12 years of age, using methamphetamine and injecting methamphetamine in the community in full view," Eloise says.
"What we're seeing now in our town is sad and distressing and worrying."
Ice use in the NT is slightly above the national average, with about 1.8 per cent of people using the drug.
But already strapped frontline services fear they will be forced to the brink if use continues to spiral.
"Increase in violence, increase in hospital admissions … increased police interactions, increased engagement with the justice system," Eloise says.
"All of which we don't have capacity for."
Strict liquor laws in the region have helped limit the supply of alcohol, where prior to restrictions alcohol-related hospitalisations for Aboriginal people accounted for 20 times the national average.
But service providers say they don't address the underlying issue of addiction.
"People don't necessarily recognise that addiction is a health issue, not a criminal issue," Eloise says.
"They drink to forget.
"It's as simple as that."
Eloise says drug and alcohol abuse is a symptom of intergenerational trauma, poverty, inequality, poor education and discrimination.
As local services cry out for more rehabilitation options in Alice Springs, one fledgling project nestled near the East MacDonnell Ranges hopes to make a difference.
The All Rounder Program, run by Alyawarre and Pertame brothers Damien and Warren Kunoth, takes young men "back in time", teaching them traditional pioneering skills.
"I think we need to try something different," Damien says.
"We need to start empowering young people."
Damien has watched close family members fall to drugs and alcohol.
But he says meth now poses a frightening new threat.
"Little Alice is a ticking time bomb," he says.
"It's so scary."
Road to recovery
On a Monday afternoon, Toni is standing in her kitchen, hands covered in flour and a big smile on her face.
"My kind of art is in the kitchen," she says, kneading a batch of damper.
There's a quiet expression of pride on her face as she looks around – after 10 years, Toni has finally got her own home.
She's working hard to stay on the right track and is gradually healing her relationship with her family.
Toni still finds it painful to reflect on the dark years of her addiction.
But for the first time in a long time, she feels positive about the future and is encouraging others to seek help.
"You're stronger than that. And that there is hope," she says.
Credits
Reporting:
Photography and video:
Digital production:
Editing:
