I am here because support was there. Everybody deserves the same chance, writes Gene Stewert-Murray.
FOR YEARS, I was criminalised for trying to cope.
I was charged, diverted through the courts, and imprisoned for a prolonged history of driving with cannabis in my system. It was illegal and I accept that. Now, I can have an online consultation through various clinics, then legally access the same substance as prescribed medical cannabis.
I wasn’t using drugs for fun. I was self‑medicating after trauma. What I needed was support, not punishment.
That experience brought me into contact with community services, initially through a court‑mandated diversion program. Without local support services in Burnie, I wouldn’t be doing advocacy work today.
That’s why I now work as a lived experience advocate in the alcohol and other drugs sector for the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council (ATDC) Tasmania. I know firsthand how fragile the system is. Waitlists are long and services are stretched. Funding is inconsistent. And every time an organisation loses funding, people fall through the cracks.
One of the biggest misunderstandings about people who access community services is the perception that needing help is a personal failing. It isn’t. Anyone can reach a point that they need support, and everyone deserves to access the support they need, when they need it, without shame, stigma or discrimination.
In small Tasmanian communities, that stigma can be overwhelming. Asking for help can feel like exposing yourself to judgment. That’s why consistent, well‑resourced and local services are so vital. Support needs to be there when people are ready, not months later, or not at all.
Short‑term funding models don’t work. They force people to retell painful stories to new workers when contracts end. They interrupt care just when consistency matters most. Healing doesn’t happen in 12 month funding cycles.
We also need lived experience advocates at the table where decisions are made. People who have been through the system know what works and what doesn’t. Policy made without us risks missing the reality on the ground.
I’m very thankful the support I needed was there. Everyone should feel comfortable in accessing the help they need too, and that’s why it is so important to have long-term sustainable funding for the community services industry.
I am here because support was there. Everybody deserves the same chance.
Gene Stewart-Murray is a lived experience advocate for the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council (ATDC) Tasmania, lending his voice in support of the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks #Prioritise all Tasmanians campaign.