A documentary exposing the "half a million steps" Dubbo residents must take to get treatment for drug addiction will screen in the city this month.
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Filmed in Dubbo, it features residents including mother Shantell Irwin who picked up a baton in October 2018 and headed towards Sydney on foot.
The 90-minute documentary, called Half A Million Steps, charts the route of the baton carried by Ms Irwin and 99 other people supporting the Uniting Church's Fair Treatment campaign.
It also highlights the "determination of community leaders in Dubbo and across NSW" to bring about change.
Fair Treatment is calling for "decriminalisation of personal drug use" and the "enhancing of access" to treatment and harm reduction strategies in NSW.
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Uniting, the service and advocacy arm of the church, has set up the campaign which has more than 60 members including union, legal, health, church and community groups as well as service providers.
Sir Richard Branson launched the campaign and called on the state government to act.
"Every year in Australia 200,000 people are denied access to alcohol and drug treatment services," he said.
The Uniting Church reports that drug-induced deaths in Australia are at a 20-year high.
Half A Million Steps will screen in Dubbo on June 14 at Dubbo RSL Memorial Club, one day after its premiere in Sydney.
To attend the Dubbo screening, register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dubbopremiere-half-a-million-steps-tickets-61139212029.
