Last week, the community united in a bid to retain a university campus for Warrnambool. That campaign continued this week and there remains much to be done. 

But on a broader scale, suicide and drug addiction are leaving a lasting impact on our community. 

Rachael Taylor wishes for a world without the drug, ice.

She says it is torture watching her son Dylan in his sleep with an arching back and contorting muscles while his face twitches and grimaces. She wants her son to get help and has called for a residential rehabilitation facility in the south-west. 

Meanwhile, Warrnambool and District league powerhouse Merrivale is facing a new opponent. 

The club has been rocked by two suicides in the off-season and is attempting to tackle the issue via awareness and encouraging members to reach out. 

That’s a really important step, particularly in the macho world of football where the culture is not often conducive to a group of blokes talking about their health and emotions.

Rachael Taylor, along with Merrivale coach Karl Dwyer and president John Pulling, should be congratulated for speaking out and for taking such a strong stance against issues that can impact anyone. 

These issues do not discriminate.

The Standard does not report on such issues lightly. But if these stories can help in some small way to preventing someone getting addicted to ice, or taking their own life, that’s a real win. 

We need to encourage discussion to come up with a positive from a tragedy. 

A Great South Coast Suicide Prevention Strategy is one such positive – bringing together a number of agencies aiming to halve the rate of suicide in the south-west by 2023. We can’t underestimate how big a step getting these agencies together for such a cause will be. 

A summit on ice, scheduled in May, is another call to arms in the hope a collaborative approach can help stop the scourge of the drug. 

This is just the beginning.