On Thursday 12 March, at 9.30am, The Althea Wellness Centre was officially launched by ACT Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Ms Katy Gallagher.

Click here to view the media release
Click here to view the opening speech made by Carol Mead, Executive Director, DIRECTIONS ACT

The Althea Wellness Centre meets the needs of people affected by drugs and alcohol, or their immediate family, to access good health care. At DIRECTIONS ACT we believe that good health care is a fundamental human right and people should be able to access health care in an environment of respect and confidentiality.

Friends and guests are invited to celebrate this culmination of 2 years work with us at 9.30am and share cake and coffee afterwards. A tour of DIRECTIONS ACT is also on offer.

The Althea Wellness Centre is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing under the ATS funding and the NGO TGP funding. We thank them for their ongoing support of the centre and its programs.

More information on Althea Wellness Centre

Funded by the National Binge Drinking Initiative

DIRECTIONS ACT is proud to announce the funding of $243,000 for the Party Safe Project through a national initiative to deal with the burgeoning binge drinking issue – especially youth binge drinking for people aged 15 – 26. DIRECTIONS ACT is the only community organisation in the ACT to have received the funding, however round two of the funding will be announced shortly.

The launch to announce the funding was held at DIRECTIONS ACT on Tuesday 25th November with Senator Bob McMullan and Jan McLucas speaking regarding this national issue.

Media Releases:

• DIRECTIONS ACT Media Release
• Bob McMullan MP Media Release

Speeches:

• Speech by Carol Mead, Executive Director, DIRECTIONS ACT

The Party Safe Project will aim to limit the risk behaviours associated with the intake of alcohol which include:

• Binge Drinking
• Drink Spiking
• Unsafe sex and unintended pregnancy
• Violence and assault
• Safety issues and first aid emergencies
• Driving under the influence and car accidents

The Party Safe Project will provided the following services, resources and initiatives to young people:

• Party Safe information focused on being party safe and making wise decisions when drinking
• Safe sex packs
• Safe partying information
• Bottled water
• First aid courses
• Referrals into counselling and youth friendly services

DIRECTIONS ACT is proud to be in partnership with St John Ambulance ACT who will provide Senior First Aid Training to 160 young people in Canberra. This workplace recognised first aid course will contain a party safe module and specifically address the issues that young people may come across. It will certainly raise awareness for safety and offer skills which potentially may save lives.

A photo gallery of the Party Safe Funding Announcement is available here

Our Television Commercial has been placed on Prime Canberra's Community Service Announcement list and will be scheduled periodically and across relevant time zones.

View our Television Commercial Here

DIRECTIONS ACT would like to thank PRIME Television for its support

Maysoon is an Arabic word meaning ‘woman walking proudly’. The program is fully funded through Health Promotion Grants and is offered by DIRECTIONSACT for women, with young children, who are using alcohol and other drugs or who are in recovery. Pregnant women or women who have children with Care and Protection orders are very welcome.

This brochure contains information on the Maysoon program including:

• What is Maysoon
• What the program includes
• Free Childcare
• Other organisations asked to provide inreach services

Download the Maysoon brochure here

Smart Recovery is a program that assists people recover from their addiction regardless of the type of addiction.

This free program runs for 90 minutes and is based on four main areas:

1. Motivation to abstain
2. Coping with urges
3. Problem solving
4. Lifestyle balance

The main emphasis of the program is on self help peer support with professional assistance provided by staff from DIRECTIONS ACT when required.

The program is run at DIRECTIONS ACT, 1 Bradley St Woden, every tuesday from 10:30am to 1pm

For more information call Barry at DIRECTIONS ACT on 61228000

The COMPASS Support Group offers families a supportive environment to discuss issues and learn strategies to manage alcohol and other drug issues.

The facilitators are experienced counsellors at DIRECTIONS ACT and COMPASS meets fortnightly 6pm – 8pm at the Woden Office.

COMPASS aims to help family members navigate through this difficult period, providing information, support and resources, assisting people to manage self care and wellbeing. For more information ring the Family Support Counsellor on 6122 8000.

The COMPASS groups for September and October are on the following dates:

• 2 September
• 16 September
• 30 September
• 14 October
• 28 October

Althea Wellness Centre

.....a place of healing

The first stage of the Althea Wellness Centre opened in July 2008 in response to the overwhelming interest and support from clients and stakeholders. While uptake is expected to be rather quiet over the next month, we should see good results after this time, as people with alcohol and other drug issues become more accustomed to accessing good health care.

The Althea Wellness Centre is set to achieve positive health outcomes for people with alcohol and other drug issues through a range of clinics. At the present time 6 clinics are offered with the option to expand the services in the near future.

• Liver Clinic – for people wanting testing and treatment options for hepatitis C
• Hep C Wellness Program – for people with hepatitis C
• Naturopath Wellness Clinic – for relapse prevention (Cost $15 for the remedies)
• Maternal and Child Health Clinic – for parents and their young children
• Mental Health Clinic – for assessment of comorbidity issues
• Mental Health Support – for counselling, support and referrals for comorbidity issues

Coming in September:

• Sexual Health Clinic – for people 16 years and over

We thank the following organisations for their continued support

Funding to build the clinic was provided by:

• Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing
• Ian Potter Foundation

Our Inreach Clinic Partners:

• Liver Clinic, Canberra Hospital ACT Health
• ACT Hepatitis Resource Centre
• Mental Health ACT Health
• Alcohol and Drug Program ACT Health

For more information download the Althea Wellness Centre brochure here
Or visit the Althea page on this website here

The Aftercare Program is a service provided by Arcadia House detoxification centre which aims to provide Arcadia House clients with a support and referral service after leaving detox. For many people completing an inpatient detoxification program is the first step in the process of drug use change or rehabilitation. After detox, people may choose to attend a rehabilitation service. The Aftercare worker can assist you to find the most suitable rehabilitation service for you.

This brochure contains information on Arcadia Aftercare including:

• What is aftercare
• How it can help
• Arcadia house admissions

Download the Arcadia Aftercare brochure here

This brochure contains information on wheel filters including:

• Which wheel filter to use
• Tips on using wheel filters
• How to use a wheel filter
• Wheel filter myths and facts

  Wheel filters are available at Primary NSP Outlets.
  There is also an instructional video displayed at the Civic NSP Outlet

  Wheel Filter Brochure