Zac Widdicombe waited 12 months to get a place at Warrakoo Station, a remote substance abuse rehabilitation centre for Indigenous men, located west of Mildura.
Now two months into his time there, Mr Widdicombe is feeling optimistic.
He says he has reconnected with family for the first time in three years, with recent visits from his mother, brother and sister.
"It's really good out there — away from civilisation, the urges and the people," he said.
But while he was grateful to have a place at Warrakoo — which is often used by the justice system as an alternative to jail — Mr Widdicombe said the long wait to get a place was a concern.
"I went back into prison for nearly a year as I waited for a rehabilitation bed," Mr Widdicombe said.
"So that's one of the main issues.
"To try and beat [addiction], before people go to prison, we need to get them into rehab."
Facility will 'save lives'
For Mildura, the closest rehabilitation facility open to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people is more than a four-hour drive away in Bendigo, with similarly long waiting lists.
However, last week the Victorian government committed to building a new $36 million, 30-bed residential withdrawal and rehabilitation facility in Mildura, which they say will support around 300 people a year.
Mildura MP Ali Cupper said the pledge comes after more than a decade of campaigning, most prominently by former mayor Simon Clemence, whose son Geoffrey Clemence took his own life after a battle with addiction.
The coroner's report for Mr Clemence noted that Mildura had the highest rate of suicide of any regional Victorian local government area, and that substance misuse was a key contributor.
Ms Cupper said the community was "totally united" about the need for the facility.
"Part of that I think is because so many of us have been touched by drug and alcohol addiction," she said.
"We know this can happen to anyone."
Mallee District Aboriginal Services chair Vicki Clark said the rehab facility would save lives.
"As we stand here today, there's a young man from this community who's being buried, who has died in a car accident through drugs and alcohol," she said.
"Hopefully, we can stop that from happening for future generations.
"The centre will be the best thing for this community, for all of our families."
Location to be determined
Victorian Minister for Health Martin Foley said the facility would be co-designed and operated in a partnership model with local health services.
He said the location of the facility was yet to be determined, but it was required to be within a 15-kilometre radius of other services such as the Mildura Base Public Hospital, and other mental health and family support.
And while Mr Widdicombe is glad people like him can look forward to receiving timely support, the facility will benefit the whole community.
"Crime rates will drop. Deaths, suicides; it will all drop," he said.
"Prison doesn't fix addiction — you get out and go back to the same old things. If they do this new rehab, it will hopefully stop deaths.
"You'd get a lot more people into jobs. A lot of drug addicts, alcoholics, they've got good life skills. Some of them have got trades; they just go off the rails.
"You've got to break the cycle, get away from the negative people and get your life back on track — that's all they need sometimes."
