A long-term drug rehabilitation center established after the lobbying of a local Seventh-day Adventist Church member opened in Port Macquarie, Australia, on June 24.
A long-term drug rehabilitation center that was established through the efforts of a local Seventh-day Adventist Church member opened in Port Macquarie, Australia, June 24.
Margaret McKay received $A1 million from a private donor to establish the center, which she named after her son, David, who died of a methadone overdose in March 1997. The center will eventually accommodate up to 30 people.
A two-day national drug summit, organized by McKay, the founder and president of Keep Our Kids Alive, preceded the opening of the center. International speakers included Sandro Calvani, East Asia and Pacific regional representative for the United Nations International Drug Control Program, and Brian Watters, chair of the Australian National Council on Drugs. Mark Vaile, federal minister for trade, attended along with delegates from every Australian state, Sweden, the United States, and Vanuatu. Also present were Dr. Terry Butler and Dr. Percy Harrold, representing the health ministries department of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific.
An estimated 500 people from about 20 community groups, including students from the local Adventist school, walked through the city declaring their support for a drug-free lifestyle.
