Our guest speaker was Roger Vistarini, Case Manager at Dreambuilders Transformations.
Roger said that the program started in Queensland 20 years ago by a former drug addict and a branch was established in Hoppers Crossing 4 years ago by the Dreambuilders Church.
Some of the facts about this program are:
It is a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
They have a 12-bed house in Hoppers Crossing.
It is a 12-month program – mainly drug-related and some alcohol.
Residents pay 80% of their support pension to be in the program.
Most are middle aged men.
Clients are referred and some are from the prison system.
It is a 4-stage program, and restrictions are reduced/eased after passing each stage.
80% of their funding is from the church.
There is only one paid staff member and the rest are volunteers.
They need help from Rotary to provide opportunities for clients – e.g. assist with Bunnings, etc.
Roger introduced Glen Pirie who is a program participant and has completed 90% of the program. Glen told his "warts and all" story about his fight with drugs. It was uplifting to hear that he believes that, thanks to this program, he has defeated his drug habit and that he has a very optimistic outlook for his future.