How Does Shalom House Work?
About the Program
Our focus is on bringing restoration to the lives of men, women and families in our community. We offer a holistic rehabilitation program while ensuring that our resident’s function actively within the community. Our program is practical and hands on.
Empowering Transformation Through Choices
We offer our services to anyone with a life-controlling issue, whether it be an addiction to substances such as drugs and alcohol or people with anxiety, fear or emotional trauma. At Shalom House our residents always come first in the service we provide; we do whatever we can to provide a safe place for them to do what they need to do.
Shalom House is a working rehabilitation centre.
All residents agree to work Monday to Friday for the duration of their stay.
We all face circumstances that we did or did not create, and we all must choose how we respond to those circumstances. Therefore, you are where you are because of your choices. To help identify what those choices are and how you can change, at Shalom House we provide a safe place for you to do what you need to do in your personal rehabilitation journey with our guidance and support 100% of the way.
If a person, however, believes that a lie is true, then that lie becomes their truth.
Often the lies people believe can be one of the root causes for the person’s addictions. Lies people believe about themselves can come from broken relationships, family breakdown, childhood trauma or addiction. We work with residents in identifying the issues and the root causes that lead them down the road to addiction. Once they are identified, we apply the skills to deal with the issues uncovered. These skills include communication, dealing with conflict, saying ‘no’ to temptation, trust, honesty, patience, communication, humility and faith.
You are where you are because of your choices, no one can change you except you.
Men’s Program
We focus on making Men who can deal with all areas of life through a discipleship model. As they enter our program, they are introduced to the Shalom House culture and begin walking through the detox period, managing emotions, learned behaviours, and heart issues. They spend the initial month of the program on “the Block” as we get to know them, and they get to know us.
The routine involves living in housing with rules and leadership, and work begins from Day 1 in the program. Tasks include gardening, painting, property clean ups, while we work through their office appointments in various departments to commence working on their full program.
After the first month, Shalom Works and the Main Office provides many opportunities to develop life-changing skills, with plumbing, welding, tree lopping, carpentry, landscaping, paving, mechanics, removals, tiling, driving, self-employed small business and office departments all available to try.
We also ensure our male residents begin filling their lives with purpose, providing education and training, including completing school, trade certificates, mental health certificates, apprenticeships and placement into work with employers on the same page as our program.
Shalom House is never focused only on the work, we believe in making people. So not only do we teach them various work skills in areas listed above, but we also disciple them in decision making, problem-solving, communication and anger management.
Women’s Program
Our program also empowers women to change through day-to-day activities which resolve learned behaviours, heart issues and managing emotions. There is a one-month detox period where our women work in our Linen Shed, sorting material donations, attending appointments and getting used to the program routine.
We then transition the ladies into various areas of Shalom House, including the Shalom Café, our main office, accounts office, medical office, gardening, upcycling furniture and clothing, vacate cleaning, volunteer work with various organisations, painting and other activities.
As they work the ladies are provided opportunities in trade certificates, training, education and employment with businesses on the same page as our program.
As our ladies’ work, we also disciple them in decision making, problem-solving, communication and anger management as we aim to make people. We also disciple women into leadership roles learning to manage people, lead by example and deal with heart issues.
We believe in empowering our women to succeed not only in Shalom, also in their families, work life and roles in the community. It’s about permanent change where women have a reliable foundation in life.
Families Program
With holistic restoration of women, often children are part of the picture. As a result, we have expanded into taking children into our dedicated residential housing where the situation requires.
The Families Program is specifically designed to empower mothers and children to live together in a safe, nurturing environment whilst at Shalom House. This program allows for the reunification of children who have previously been cared for by extended family members or through the foster care system with their mothers.
A mother in the program can bring their children in to join her in the program generally after the first six months.
To participate in the Families Program, a resident must demonstrate a strong understanding of the program and culture, embody its core principles, and serve as a role model by consistently applying its rules and values. Residents may also apply for full-time residency after reaching the Stage 3 milestone and relevant internal approvals.
Within this program, families are treated as cohesive units, living alongside other families who share mutual support and understanding.
While residents participate in the Families Program, they are expected to adhere to Shalom House’s established guidelines, with the program being tailored to meet the specific needs of mothers and their children.
Shalom House offers a supportive living environment for these families. The program is structured with a peer leadership framework, which supervises and mentors both residents and their children.
Additionally, 24-hour onsite support ensures that families receive consistent and immediate assistance when needed.
Furthermore, the Families Program offers child stays for women in the Women’s Program who do not have full-time or part-time care of their children. This aspect of the program allows for occasional weekend care and care during school holidays, supporting mothers in maintaining a bond with their children while pursuing recovery, personal growth and stability.
This process ensures long-term success for participants.
Shalom House is dedicated to fostering an environment where individuals and families feel supported, empowered, and connected, ensuring a pathway for long-term success.
Cost of the Program
Payment Inquiry
Are you presently receiving Centrelink payments?
Identification Verification
Do you possess 100 points of identification?
Do you possess a valid medicare card?
Important Notes:
Facts
Please note
We do not take in new intakes/residents into our program who are at a risk to themselves or others. We require all participants to be in a stable mental and physical condition suitable for involvement in our program.
We do not accept new intakes/residents who have recently had a suicide attempt — or have been in a suicide crisis centre. We also do not take residents who are suffering severe mental health problems — and who are on mental health medications such as Seroquel, Lithium, Olanzapine, Clonazepam, Lithium Zyprexa Etc
The 5 Stages of Shalom House Program
Stage one
The first stage in the Shalom House program goes for approximately three months.
It’s about us getting to know the client and the client getting to know us; it’s about detoxing from any substances or medications that the client might have been on; and it’s also about the client getting used to the environment, its routine, its people, the way the program functions and how we do things.
Many people entering a structured program like Shalom come from a background of addiction to drugs and alcohol or from a lifestyle of isolation from others. The length of time it takes for them to settle in will depend on the individual, the culture and the background they come from. At Shalom House, we do not have one program, we have 140 programs for every one of the unique 140 individual residents.
Stage Two
When the client has been with us for approximately 12 weeks we sit with each individual to map out a plan for their future. No matter what the resident would like to do with their life, we do our best to come alongside them to make it happen. Whether it’s starting a business, going to TAFE, taking up an apprenticeship or completing a trade that was never finished, we believe it is possible.
Beginning paid work depends on what a resident decides they want to do in the future. We endeavour to have our residents started in their chosen field.
After 12 weeks, depending on your progress and attitude we give you the opportunity to start two days a week paid work with an employer who is on the same page as the rehabilitation centre. Being on the same page means going out of their way to provide a safe working environment for our resident, making sure that they don’t team them up with a person who is struggling with addiction or with issues that would rub off but rather someone who will be a positive influence in their life. The income that the resident receives while working is used to help them move forward financially in their life. We begin to facilitate paying out their unpaid fines and debts that they may have accumulated. We also help them get their driver’s licence, buy a car, etc.
We find this gradual progression back into the workforce helps us monitor whether they are putting into practice what we are teaching them in Shalom. If there is a reason for concern we can taper it back to where we feel they need to be. This balance provides us with an opportunity to see if they are maintaining their progress by making the right decisions and the way they behave.
Stage Three
Stage three sees the resident increases the amount of paid work externally and continues to plug in with the residents in the earlier stages. We allow the resident to purchase a mobile phone as well as the freedom to come and go from the Shalom property, with an 8:30 pm curfew.
This gives the resident a sense of freedom and responsibility whilst keeping them accountable to the leadership at Shalom. They grow in their independence whilst having people to fall back on and continue to receive guidance for the issues that arise.
Stage Four
By this stage, the resident has a lot of independence to make choices in their own lives. We want to see the resident working hard and building relationships with their families, friends and the community. They have a 10.30pm curfew and more freedom on the weekends.
We consider mentoring to be a vital part of our program, we want to see all senior residents giving back to the program by encouraging the newer residents and helping to maintain the Shalom culture.
Stage Five
In stage five , the resident can choose to be moved out of the main house and into shared accommodation with other senior residents. This stage is a period during which the resident has full control of their life and is making choices on how to live and what type of life they want to pursue. During this period, we will continue to monitor the resident’s progress and may require random drug testing.
The residents are to demonstrate all of the moral and lifestyle choices that they have learnt whilst in the program to show that they are ready to graduate. How well they can cope with the temptations of everyday life and how they deal with their loved ones will determine if they are ready for the next step.
Graduation
When the resident has demonstrated that they are capable of living free from the program and feels ready to graduate from Shalom they make an application that asks the resident why they feel ready. We will asses each application and speak with the resident to make sure that a support network is present and that they are set up to fully succeed. We take many things into consideration when approving an application to leave our program. What we want to see is that they are putting into practice everything they were taught at Shalom and being a productive member of the society that they have now entered back into. When we graduate a person, we are saying that not only do we support and honour them in what they have achieved but also that we are confident that they will not go back to their old ways.
The resident’s graduation is done in the presence of their peers and family and is a major event in the Shalom family. After graduation, the resident is so well connected in their community and has a network of friends, mentors, counsellors and family that life simply carries on with a sense of achievement and purpose.