The Australian Anti Ice Campaign (AAIC) was formed in 2015 by Andre’a Simmons in order to raise awareness and educate the public, in particular our youth, about the incredible dangers of the drug ICE.
This seven and a half minute television interview (click the image below) provides a concise summary of AAIC Founder and Chief Executive Andre’a Simmons story - why AAIC was formed and what we aim to achieve.
AAIC aims to “unsell a dangerous drug” by exposing Ice for what it really is, an insidiously poisonous chemical concoction that eventually, and often rapidly, destroys the physical and mental health of almost everyone who uses it, with the destruction of families and friendships, and often suicide, as the ultimate outcome.
OUR MISSION
The AAIC offers ICE Specific Education Workshops delivered by trained lived experience presenters who, like Andre’a, have lived through the hell of ICE addiction and are now in long term recovery. These presenters also act as Lived Experience Buddies - helping people wanting to break free from the cycle of addiction and establish pathways into recovery.
AAIC has successfully conducted workshops in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia, reaching high school students, youth in detention, miners, child safety workers, and prisoners across various regions.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with testimonials from students, teachers, prisoners, and professionals attesting to the impact of AAIC’s programs.
(Click Here to view testimonials)
AAIC has also helped hundreds of people find recovery from Ice addiction, and our Workshops and Lived Experience Buddy program is now supporting teenagers in the Queensland youth justice system as they prepare for release from incarceration and reintegration into the community.
(Click Here to view feedback from Brisbane and West Moreton Youth Detention Centres)
AAIC has developed a video based eBook in an effort to get out message to more Australians, especially those living in regional and remote areas where the logistics and cost of delivering our in person workshops is prohibitive.
(Click here to view the AAIC eBook).
AAIC also raises awareness of the dangers of ICE through:
- Main Stream and social media coverage (click here to view media);
- Community Forums
- Community Outreach Events
- Our annual Walk against Ice Event staged in towns and cities around Australia.
Our Pathways to Recovery Program enables community groups, including churches, to offer AAIC Lived Experience Buddy support and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Interventions training to individuals in their local communities. Additionally, our Community Ambassadors Program allows community organizations to provide our eBook to their members and the wider community.
Each person we help to say NO; when offered an ICE pipe, pill, or needle, and each individual we assist in finding recovery from ICE addiction, represents a significant victory—not just for them, but for their families, friends, and entire community.