Service offers hope for people with addiction

The Mid West branch of Hope Community Services is gaining worldwide recognition for the work they are doing to help people suffering from addiction overcome their illness.

The Geraldton-based office received a commendation as part of the 2015 Core Value Awards at the recently held International Association for Public Participation gala dinner.

The award was given as a result of the work residents at Rosella House had been doing on their newly acquired property, Hope Springs, which is based 40km outside of Geraldton.

Recovering addicts have been helping to maintain the 27 acre permaculture property, while also building facilities and crafting jewellery, spice racks and breadboards out of local timber.

“The sense of achievement people get that we work with is really great because in their life they have been considered a problem — either by their family, by society, by the law, whatever — they’ve been a problem to solve,” Hope Community Services spokeswoman Monica Luppi said.

“When they start realising they can contribute and help instead of always being on the receiving end of help, it’s really empowering.

“They become their own agent for change in that moment.”

Ms Luppi said the extra time that has been put into engaging with the community was paying dividends, not just for the residents at Rosella House and Hope Springs, but for the Mid West area as a whole.

“One of the things with the farm is that it’s not just about our direct beneficiaries, it’s also about trying to create those multiple positive outcomes for the community,” she said.

“There might be another community group that’s struggling to attract volunteers so maybe our residents will go and do some volunteering with them as well — it’s a win-win all round.”

However, while Ms Luppi was positive about the work they had been doing at Hope Springs, she felt more could be done by Government agencies and other stakeholders to help people break the destructive cycle of drug addiction.

“There is still much more demand for drug treatment than there is supply…there are a lot more people that need help,” she said.

Ms Luppi highlighted detox in regional areas as one element of the treatment process that was severely lacking.

“Right now if someone is living in a regional area in the Mid West and they need help, they have to go to Perth to detox, wait for there to be a spot open — detox — and then come back and start their treatment.

“There are a lot of obstacles for treatment and that’s one of the biggest issues.”