Pictured: Jessica Thai, alcohol and other drug clinician at the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA)

Addiction is a difficult issue, and for Australians with a Vietnamese background there are often cultural barriers that discourage people from seeking help. 

The issue affects people from all classes, gender, and circumstances, but Jessica Thai, an AOD clinician from the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA), said the taboo within her community was more pronounced than in most. 

“We need to raise the issue of stigma because it makes people isolated, ashamed, and discourages them from seeking help,’’ she said.

“You might be curious at first [to try drugs] but then when life has its ups and downs and people have to deal with anxiety, stress or trauma and loss then they might turn to alcohol or drugs for comfort.’’ 

Anh Bui, the association’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator, said everyone deserves a second chance. 

“In the Vietnamese community, having a drug or alcohol issue is a big label. A lot of people are reluctant to seek help until it’s unmanageable,’’ she said. 

Another barrier within the community, perversely, stems from how close everyone is – a fear that if they seek help they might be “caught” and their addiction exposed.  

The AVWA and similar support groups emphasise the confidential nature of their work. Jessica and Anh urge people with addiction not to be scared to reach out. 

“Everything that you share with us will be kept private,” Jessica said. “We will be actively listening to your story, to work with you.’’ 

They encourage family and friends to offer compassion to loved ones battling addiction rather than seeing it as a failure of character or will. 

Anh makes an impassioned plea for people to see those with addiction issues as more than “just an addict”. 

She gives the example of an event where one of her clients volunteered to help with setting up the venue. Others involved in the event all praised the young person and after the event one of her colleagues asked Anh how she had found such a great volunteer. Anh explained he was one of her clients, then realised she had made a terrible mistake. 

“There was a deathly silence for everyone ... and I can feel that labelling of [the young person] as an addict,” she said, “even though they were in recovery.” 

NWMPHN commissions AVWA to provide alcohol and other drug support and information to the Vietnamese community within its region. 

The services that Jessica, Anh and others deliver are culturally sensitive and adaptable, using psychosocial and harm minimisation approaches to help individuals and families facing AOD concerns. 

Support might include assessment, individual and family counselling, care coordination, AOD information and education, and group work in the criminal justice setting. 

Jessica says working in this area is both a mission and a privilege. 

“Once a person becomes better, our society becomes as well,” she said. 

“I just hope that more people from this community can come to seek the office at the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association.’’