 |
 |
 |
What is "Fresh Hope"?
Fresh Hope is a drug & alcohol rehabilitation program with a difference! It is currently the only rehab program in Queensland that allows mums to keep their children with them as they go through the 12-18 month program. Usually, one of the costs of a woman going into a rehab program is to be separated from her children, with the children going to stay with relatives or being placed in the foster system. As a result, some mums will not seek help for addictions, as they don’t want to be separated from their children.
In July 1999, Karen & John Bartlett founded Fresh Hope on Queensland’s Darling Downs to put a practical solution to this problem in place. Fresh Hope welcomes mums with addiction problems, with their children. Fresh Hope is a live-in program where mums going through the course share a house & learn practical house-keeping skills as well as how to address their addictions, in a supported, family-orientated environment.
Besides the format & structure of Fresh Hope which allows mums to keep their children with them, another factor that sets Fresh Hope apart is that it receives no on-going government funding. Fresh Hope is a non-profit, community-based organisation that relies on community support, donations & one-off grants to continue to provide this vital & unique program.
Karen holds a Masters in Counseling, a Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Counseling & a BA in Counseling. John has a BA in Christian Ministry, is a Civil Celebrant, a Justice of the Peace & oversees the administrative needs of Fresh Hope.
Karen & John live & work full time at the Fresh Hope Centre in an unpaid volunteer capacity, as do recent additions to the Fresh Hope staff/family, houseparents Will & Ness Curtis & Valda O’Connor.
Unlike many other rehabilitation programs, Fresh Hope accepts mums straight off the street without requiring them to be drug free prior to acceptance. Each mum has their own specific program that she works through at her own pace, generally in a period of 12-18 months. Present resources allow for four mums & their children to be in residence at one time.
As well as rehabilitation counseling, mums participating in the Fresh hope program take part in:
- drug education
- group sessions
- self esteem
- parenting skills
- vocational assessment
- further education
- life skills (such as cooking, cleaning, sewing)
Fresh Hope also provides on-going support & follow-up care for mums who complete the course. The main goal of Fresh Hope is to break the generational cycle of addiction and bring ‘fresh hope’ for the future.