Mr Powell said the community was a strong supporter of The Lookout, which would allow people with addiction issues to seek treatment close to home.

"We're in a state of limbo until we hear the budget announcement on May 7," Mr Powell said.

"The community has contributed significant amounts of money to The Lookout and we feel that it's time to get some answers."

Mr Powell said more than 800 people sought treatment for substance issues at Warrnambool's WRAD Health in the past calendar year and less than 5 per cent of clients who needed residential care for substance abuse were willing to access it outside the south-west.

Mr Powell said alcohol was the highest primary substance of concern among clients in the past financial year.

He said the high number of people seeking treatment proved the need for a residential rehabilitation facility was growing.

"We are dedicated to improving the outcomes for people with living with the challenges of AOD addiction - in the most recent budget we invested $372 million into our AOD services and have doubled our investment since coming into Government in 2014," a state government spokesperson told The Standard on Friday, April 12.

"We are delivering a range of mental health and AOD services to people in Warrnambool and across the southwest, including access to a mental health and wellbeing Hub right in the heart of town, providing walk-in, face-to-face, and, most importantly, free care to those in need."

"People living in the south-west region of Victoria can access treatment through their local intake provider, the Australian Community Support Organisation."

Mr Powell's comments come ahead of a visit from author Judy Ryan at the Warrnambool Library on Tuesday, April 16.

Ms Ryan, who is a leading campaigner behind establishing a medically supervised injecting room in Richmond, hopes to inspire Warrnambool residents to keep up their campaign for The Lookout residential rehabilitation centre.

Ms Ryan said the campaign for the Lookout residential rehabilitation centre was a great example where "people can become activists without marching up and down the street".

"It can be as easy as contacting your local politician; we can change the world just by doing that," she said.

For bookings visit: https://warrnamboollibrary.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/EVSESENQ?SETLVL=&RNI=790979 or contact the library on 5559 4990.