We would like to wish all our donors, supporters and their loved ones a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Without our generous donors, we would be unable to help everyone who comes to us seeking to overcome their addiction and turn their lives around.

Over the past year, there has been an overwhelming number of people contacting us from prison requesting a residential place in the Northam Recovery Program upon their release. To enable us to help these people, we now accept clients who would otherwise have nowhere to go for addiction treatment and would likely return to their old lives, vulnerable to substance abuse and with a high chance of reoffending.

Many are released on parole directly to the centre, where there are staff and volunteers to support their transition back into the community and help them adhere to their parole requirements. There have been very positive outcomes, with clients motivated to complete the program by staff who understand trauma-informed care.

The men’s program has proved so successful that we are planning to introduce a Women’s Prison Program in the new year. Many incarcerated women are in the same situation as our male clients, requiring safe housing, relapse prevention, counselling, life skills and family reunification. The pilot program will initially involve a small group of women who will live together in a house on our bush property, with support workers to facilitate the program.

Expansion of our services is imperative to meet the need for addiction treatment and recovery services in WA. There is currently a long waitlist in WA prisons for a place in the Northam Recovery Centre. The vicious cycle of reoffending and returning to substance abuse can be broken for people who are given the chance to change their lives for the better through engaging with Fresh Start.

If you would like to support us this Christmas to help families escape addiction , please make a tax-deductible donation online or  call us on 9381 1333 to make your donation by credit card.