The Community

We Help Ourselves Gunyah men's community operates separately from the other WHOS services. Its aim is to provide a safe and secure environment where men who suffer from drug abuse and related problems can concentrate on their recovery. Group work and individual counselling is provided by experienced drug and alcohol workers to deal with the special needs of men. Our service is situated closer to the city and handy to all the professional facilities that a city has to offer. We are ideally situated for our residents to make the transition back into the community and we also offer 3/4 way accommodation if a longer stay is required.

Activities

The WHOS Gunyah men's community is a three to six month program offering group work, counselling, support and education, stress management and skills development. Groupwork covers topics such as social and communication skills, assertiveness skills and self esteem building, living skills, self and group evaluation awareness, exiting client groups, relapse prevention and ex-residents groups. WHOS also provides HIV and other infections disease education and adopts a harm minimisation approach should a drug free outcome not be chosen. Outreach services are available and provided by We Help Ourselves. We also provide multiple access to outside activities such as self help meetings, general health services, legal and welfare services, TAFE and other educational activities and various exercise programs such as yoga and Tai Chi. Weekends are the time for leisure activities and relaxation.

What we expect from you

We expect you to acknowledge that there is a need for change and that drug use is no longer working for you. Detox arrangements will need to be made or negotiated with staff prior to admission. We need 3 froms of identification for Centrelink purposes and our minimum age requirement is 18 years. If you have any ongoing court or legal business it will need to be deferred for the first six weeks of the program. We ask that you agree to abide by the community's rules and guidelines, in particular no drugs (including alcohol), no violence (or threat of), no stealing and no sexual activity with another person on campus. If you have a special medical problem that needs individual medical services or supervision, please contact us to see if we have the resources to meet your needs.

What it costs

WHOS is funded by the NSW Health Department for expenditure such as direct staff services. However this does not cover all our operating costs. To cover costs such as food and provisions, accommodation, travel to and from meetings or appointments, activities, laundry, medical supplies and prescriptions, official communications and postage, stress management classes, movies, videos, leisure activities and other community functions it is necessary to charge a fee or ask for a significant proportion of your benefit entitlement for your first three months. After three months your focus will be on leaving the community and you will only need to contribute for food and accommodation. To ensure some financial security, a savings plan is available for when you leave our program.

Admission Details

Assessments and admissions are carried out by staff Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 5.00pm.

For more information please contact WHOs staff on:
Phone: (02) 85 727 455
E-mail: info@whos.com.au