Australia has alarming gaps in its treatment regime for addiction, so much so that a woman with children living in Dubbo would have to travel a staggering 400 kilometres to seek help.

With figures like that, the Uniting Church Synod of NSW/ACT and its advocacy and services agency, Uniting, decided to organise a walk from Dubbo to Parliament House, where an open letter will be delivered to the health minister.

READ MORE: Dubbo the launch pad for 15-day Long Walk to Treatment

Uniting’s head of advocacy, Dominic Streeter, said there would be over 100 walkers participating in a relay-style journey, taking more than 500,000 steps over the course of 15 days.

“That is the distance that a woman with children would have to go to get into a residential treatment facility for drug addiction,” he said. 

Walkers taking part include members of the public who are seeking treatment, local community groups, people who have successfully been rehabilitated and church leaders. 

The Long Walk to Treatment stopped in Bathurst on Thursday afternoon, with walkers making their way from Eglinton to the Uniting Church on William Street. 

Julie Greig from the Bathurst Uniting Church said it was a wonderful initiative that was not only campaigning for change, but bringing people together. 

“It’s fantastic when all the congregations of the Uniting Church can participate in a project and the Bathurst congregation was delighted to participate in a small way,” she said. 

Ms Greig said that, for her, taking part in the walk on Thursday had helped her to better understand the plight that addicts who want treatment would have to go through.

“As we walked we attracted a bit of attention, which is good,” she said. 

“Certainly walking a route highlighted just what 400km is.” 

Walkers will stay in Bathurst overnight, where they plan to present a film at the church and share their own stories. 

They will move on to Tarana on Friday morning. 

Mr Streeter said there had been “an avalanche of public support” from people since the walk began, indicating that Australians want change as much as the Uniting Church does.

“People in Australia are saying they want change and that has been clear in the last couple of days with what we have been doing,” he said. 

Members of the public have been asked to show their support by adding their name to the petition at fairtreatment.org/walk, which will also be presented to parliament. 

Mr Streeter said thousands of signatures had been received already.

He added that for every $1 spent on treatment, society saves $7, so making treatment for drug and alcohol addiction more accessible would benefit everyone. 

“This makes sense on every level because it saves lives, it also saves money and it saves communities,” Mr Streeter said.