Wollongong Salvos program to be rolled out in Canada
Maris Depers and Lisa Bishop from The Salvation Army’s First Floor Program in Wollongong will spend two weeks in Canada helping Kelowna Corps to set up a similar service there. (Photos supplied by First Floor Restoration Centre)
A family support program pioneered at Wollongong Corps is being introduced into The Salvation Army in Canada.
Two members of Wollongong’s First Floor Program went to Vancouver this week to train community workers at Kelowna Corps, 400km from Vancouver.
Drug and alcohol counsellor Maris Depers and family support worker Lisa Bishop will spend two weeks in Kelowna equipping local staff to operate programs similar to those started in Wollongong by Jayne Wilson, Marilyn Dunn and their team over the past 15 years.
The Wollongong program has since spread to several Sydney suburbs and Canberra.
It includes counselling for people in alcohol, drug and gambling addiction, plus separate support groups for families - from children to partners and grandparents.
Lisa Bishop became a family support worker five years ago after receiving help through the Wollongong program when a son was in addiction. Lisa has gone on to train in the field.
More than 120 Illawarra families are now assisted through the First Floor Program, which also assists families of people in prison or on parole or affected by suicide.
Implementation of the Wollongong program follows a visit to Australia by Kelowna Corps Officers Majors Ron and Toni Cartmell.
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