Essential upgrade for William Booth
The newly refurbished first floor of the William Booth Recovery Services Centre. (Photo by Shairon Paterson)
A complete refurbishment of the first floor at the William Booth Recovery Services Centre in Sydney’s Surry Hills means more people have hope of change.
Thanks in part to the generosity of bequest funding, the centre now has a brighter first floor, more recreational space, and a new four-bed women’s detoxification unit added to the existing 10-bed men’s unit.
Service manager Major Bob Seymour says those accessing the short-term detox services are increasingly part of the classes and support groups in the ten-month residential ‘Bridge program’, with great results.
“The integration of detox with the long-term long term residential program is having a positive effect,” he says.
“In the past, about 47 per cent of people completing their detox would go on to treatment, but others would come in for respite, or short-term care and go back out into the community.
"After the integration, we were expecting a retention rate of around 60 per cent with an aim for 75. Already we're seeing a continuance of over 80 per cent."
“Detox is between three and six days, and as soon as the doctor or nurses tell us the participant is well enough to start getting out of bed and getting around, they start attending groups and education programs. With induction to treatment on the same floor, those in detox are now allocated a case manager. They attend the same groups, are involved with same staff, use the same dining and recreation areas, and this encourages them to stay for the full program.”
Major Seymour says all residents have benefited from the gutting and complete refurbishment of the first floor, which also accommodates clients in stage one of the residential Bridge program. The program supports around 500 men and women each year who have drug, alcohol and/or gambling addictions.
He says the first floor (of five and a basement) had only undergone only minor repairs over the past 40 years and had a deeply “institutional” feel.
“The building was never designed for this purpose, so what we wanted to do was use the space much more effectively; add a great deal of colour and to build more indoor recreational space. Being a bit of a bunker of a building in Surry Hills, we don’t have outdoor recreational space.”
The building was originally used as a working men’s hostel and later served as the nerve centre for the Bridge Program, initially for men and women with addiction problems. However the service only ran stage one for many years with participants then moving to other centres.
The abstinence-based Bridge residential program provides spiritual care, case management, education, living skills courses, support groups, 12-step meetings, work therapy, job readiness preparation, and much more.
Major Seymour says that the turnaround in many lives still seems quite miraculous.
“One of the most amazing things is that the desire for drugs or alcohol changes, and people begin to want recovery more. That’s where the miracle occurs in people’s lives.”
Comments
Hi my name is Antone I live in Nairobi and i work with young people, I would like to be involved in your program, to gain more experience in your affected with drugs and social issues outreach. I am looking forward to hear from you soon. Antone
@Antone Osoti:
Hi Antone,
I have passed your details on to people in The Salvation Army in Kenya and they have promised to make contact with you. Thank you for contacting mySalvos.
Hello,
I just stumbled upon this site and recognised the detox room. I was a patient in that room in December 2013. Thank God for that detox and thank God for the Salvo's. I am sober now and attend 12 step meetings regularly. I didn't complete the program, but going to William Booth House introduced me to the real hope that I could have recovery if I followed some simple but important suggestions . I met some very good people and reconnected with my higher power. Major Bob John Willson are amazing people who were very kind to me but also very honest about what was on the cards for me if I kept going the way I was. Major Bob is right about the miracles. Thankyou so much to the salvos.
Rachel