Windana News

Dear Friends and Supporters of Windana,

Welcome to the Autumn quarterly newsletter that we have created to connect and share stories of our people, our work, the impact of what we do and breaking news from the wider treatment sector. I am delighted to update you on some major developments over the summer months.

Windana staff across our operations at St Kilda, Maryknoll and through partnerships, conferencing, volunteers, government relations and the media have been kept extremely busy.

You may have seen extensive media coverage throughout February 2017 surrounding growing support for a Medically Supervised Injection Centre in Victoria. Windana joined 47 leaders from drug & alcohol recovery, social welfare, justice, medical and health organisations in a petition to the Victorian Parliament to support Medically Supervised Injection Centres in Victoria and to support a rigorously evaluated trial in Richmond. There is growing international research and evidence that these injection centres save lives. It is plainly evident that these measures are not working and are in fact driving drug-using populations into secluded areas within these high risk areas, where there is a greater risk of fatal overdose due to the clandestine nature of their consumption necessitated by the need to avoid policing authorities. Windana will continue its advocacy around this critical issue.

A new Windana project delivers significant improvements in client care  

Since February 2016, Windana Clinical Psychologist Dr Nathan Castle and Windana’s Dual Diagnosis Team have been working on a new BPRAM (Best Practice Client Risk Assessment and Management) project. Under Nathan’s leadership, the project has been designed to improve client assessment processes that can increase the chances of recovery for clients engaging in AOD treatment. BPRAM is also designed to support higher job satisfaction and less burn out for staff dealing with acute crisis clients.

Windana collaboration with SHARC at VAADA 2017 

As part of the Victorian Alcohol & Drug Association 2017 Conference in February 2017, Windana’s Quality Coordinator Debra Millist presented a session “Hearing the Consumer Voice” about a new ten-person Joint Advisory Committee that Windana has established with the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC). “We had a fantastic response to the session,” says Debra who presented with SHARC colleague Natalie Wloch, and committee members Cina Wheeler, Jo-ann Stenton and James Guthrie. “The truth is, every community organisation says ‘we need to do more consumer engagement’ but it something that people have difficulty getting momentum around,” she says. (Consumer engagement refers to clients and carers.) This consumer committees is made up of clients and carers from both Windana and SHARC The work of the committee is so important “because all of the research shows that if we don't effectively engage our clients in the recovery process, then you don't get good outcomes.”

Staff Profile: Karen Hall 

Meet Karen Hall, Street Project Coordinator. She works on the Street Project, a partnership between Windana and Sacred Heart Mission, that sees her working directly with some of the most marginalised people in our society. “There is no such thing as a typical day,” she says. “I have learnt to just roll with what is presented and, at all costs, stay calm.” Both organisations work in the inner city St Kilda region of Melbourne. The collaboration is a critical partnership that connects Sacred Heart’s focus on addressing homelessness, social exclusion and disadvantage with Windana’s drug and alcohol recovery services.

Inspired Philanthropy

Over the summer, Windana has had some very generous supporters that we would like to thank. The Lakeside Financial Services annual golf day raised $5000 for Windana and we would like to acknowledge Lakeside Managing Director Ross Hennig for his support of the work we do.

Your donation will assist us to show more Windana clients a way forward and to fund our holistic care programs, which involve myriad specialists and interventions. Windana is a Deductable Gift Recipient (DGR).

or via New Beginnings. Give more, give smarter . . . 

Please contact Kirsty Gregory for more information about giving to Windana.