Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants 671 672 Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants 673 674 Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants Table of Contents Chapter 16. Aboriginal people and communities ........................................................ 682 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 682 Aboriginal people and cultures of NSW .............................................................. 683 Aboriginal definitions of health and wellbeing ......................................................... 683 Aboriginal people and communities are resilient ..................................................... 684 The importance of family, community, culture and Country ..................................... 684 The effects of trauma experienced personally, intergenerationally and culturally ............................................................................................................... 685 The impacts of colonisation and racism .................................................................. 687 The Stolen Generations and child removals ........................................................... 688 ATS use and its impact among Aboriginal people in NSW ................................ 689 Prevalence of ATS use by Aboriginal people .......................................................... 690 Impacts of ATS use on Aboriginal people ............................................................... 692 Aboriginal people want self-determination and action from government ............. 695 The principle of self-determination ......................................................................... 695 Co-design in developing and delivering services .................................................... 697 Community control of solutions and services .......................................................... 697 Partnerships between governments and local communities .................................... 698 Aboriginal people want to see action to bring about change ................................... 698 Health service responses for Aboriginal people and communities affected by ATS .................................................................................................................. 699 Barriers to accessing AOD services ....................................................................... 699 The value of Aboriginal community-controlled health services ................................ 704 Gaps in existing rehabilitation services ................................................................... 704 Challenges for health service providers .................................................................. 706 Alternate treatment and funding models ................................................................. 707 Justice system needs and responses for Aboriginal people and communities affected by ATS ............................................................................. 708 Aboriginal people and the NSW Police Force ......................................................... 709 Aboriginal people and courts .................................................................................. 710 The importance of diversity in the legal system ...................................................... 715 Capacity of the workforce to meet the needs of Aboriginal people and communities affected by ATS ............................................................................. 716 The benefits of having Aboriginal staff .................................................................... 716 Benefits of flexibility ............................................................................................... 717 Further developing an Aboriginal workforce............................................................ 717 All services need to be culturally respectful, culturally competent and culturally safe ........................................................................................................................ 721 References ........................................................................................................... 723 Chapter 17. Homelessness ........................................................................................... 732 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 732 Housing, homelessness and ATS ....................................................................... 732 An increase in homelessness in NSW .................................................................... 732 AOD use among people experiencing homelessness ............................................. 733 Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants 675 The complexity of homelessness and AOD dependence .................................. 735 Addressing the complex needs of people experiencing homelessness who use ATS ........................................................................................................................ 736 Effective responses to address the housing needs of people who use ATS ............ 736 The Housing First approach ................................................................................... 738 Opportunities to improve the NSW response to people who experience homelessness and use ATS ................................................................................ 740 Services and programs for people experiencing homelessness in NSW ................. 740 Homelessness services may exclude people who use ATS .................................... 741 Housing First has not been widely applied in NSW ................................................. 742 Insufficient transitional housing available in NSW ................................................... 743 Social housing and people who use ATS ............................................................... 744 The Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) model ......................... 746 References ........................................................................................................... 748 Chapter 18. Families affected by use of amphetamine-type stimulants .................... 753 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 753 Family and friends ............................................................................................... 754 Impacts on family and friends ................................................................................. 754 Impacts on grandparents ........................................................................................ 756 The number of families and friends affected by ATS use is unknown ..................... 757 Strengthening the response to family and friends affected by ATS use .................. 757 The support needs of affected family and friends ................................................... 758 Support services for families affected by ATS in NSW ............................................ 761 A systemic approach is needed to better support families and friends affected by ATS ................................................................................................................... 766 Need for integration with and between existing services .................................. 768 Domestic and family violence in the context of ATS use .................................. 770 The interaction between ATS and domestic and family violence ............................. 771 Further research is needed to better identify and understand the association between ATS and domestic and family violence ..................................................... 775 Responding to ATS use and domestic and family violence ..................................... 776 Children and young people ................................................................................. 781 Parental ATS use can harm children in different ways ............................................ 782 ATS use is one of many factors contributing to risk of harm ................................... 783 Parental drug use, including ATS, does not always cause harm ............................. 783 ATS affect families differently to other drugs .......................................................... 784 Parental ATS use can affect children’s developmental outcomes ........................... 784 Parental ATS use may lead to poor life outcomes in children ................................. 787 Parental ATS use is associated with a significant number of children and young people at risk of harm ............................................................................................. 787 Effectiveness of current responses to children at risk of harm due to parental ATS use ................................................................................................................. 789 The role of schools in identifying and responding to children affected by parental ATS use ................................................................................................................