Frequently Asked Questions

Regarding Shalom use of 254 Camberwarra Dve, Craigie.

The Program

Shalom’s existing facilities have been operating in residential areas for 11 years, without incident. Over the past 12 years Shalom has proven to the Western Australian community that it is a safe and well-run organisation that to date has had no issues with the police or emergency services. We selected the Craigie property as a residence for our Women’s Wellness program as it is appropriately zoned and the location would support women and children who have made the decision to change their lives.

The Shalom program provides a safe environment for residents to address addictions to life controlling substances and issues, including drugs, alcohol, medications, depression and anxiety. The goal is to resolve previous choices and experiences through counselling. They learn and apply problem-resolution, communication and decision-making skills to make better choices in future. Finally, they progress to improving their work skills, vocational skills and life skills ready for re-entering mainstream society. There will be a mix of residents at various stages of the program living at the Craigie property.

The women in attendance will not be under the influence of any drug or substance – Shalom works on a model of complete abstinence and close supervision, rather than the substitution or gradual withdrawal of controlling substances. Drinking, smoking, vaping and alcohol are not permitted on or off the property.

In the earlier stages of the program residents are closely supervised by staff and resident leaders. We have a process in place and levels of reporting that monitors residents movements, as well as curfews in place for all residents. Movements to and from the site are generally by bus transport in groups. They will do volunteer activities offsite but at times small groups may do activities at the Craigie property such as craft, cooking, counselling, etc. The program also arranges for teams of residents to attend and undertake supervised employment and charitable work for people in need in the broader community. The types of charitable work includes, collecting garbage in local suburbs, conducting cleaning services for not for profits, conducting cleaning and maintenance services at Lockridge Primary School, Perth Montessori School and Swan Christian School; and gardening for elderly individuals.

As they progress through the program they transition to paid work with an employer, starting at two days a week and this is increased as they move through the program, depending on their progress and personal growth. Work includes textiles recycling, a second hand clothing boutique, second hand furniture shop and café.

There will be one to two caretakers residing at the property. These caretakers are on staff and part of their role is to manage and support the residents and the property. They will also deal with any situations that may arise.

The women and children that will be residing at the facility will mainly be there after-hours. During school and business hours the children will be at school and/or daycare, the women will generally be at paid work or voluntary work.

A roster of domestic tasks is kept, and each participant has household obligations each day. Residents are expected to keep their own bedroom and, jointly, to keep all living areas clean and orderly.

On Saturdays the residents get to participate in planned and supervised recreational activities that may include bus trips to the beach or other recreational venues. Each Saturday evening the residents are taken to “Shalom House Family Night”. Here there is an inclusive church service before everyone shares a meal together. This is a safe place for family members and friends of the residents to spend time together.

FAQ’s Craigie-Mercyville Centre

There are no visits to any of our properties by family members or friends who are not part of the program. Occasionally our participants will be treated to hairdressers or beauticians, who will attend the site. Similarly, we encourage life long learning and fun – so things like dance lessons or personal training may be arranged.

We will have at least one caretaker on site when it is occupied. In addition we expect that approximately 4 staff members will attend site for supervised activities, support meetings and counselling sessions. Overall Shalom has approximately 30 Staff and more than 35 volunteers but the Craigie property will not be used as an office facility. This includes one full time psychologist, a number of trained counsellors, registered nurse, trained first aiders, etc. Everyone that works with the children has suitable clearances including working with children checks. All staff, volunteers and residents apply for a National Police Certificate.

We will have a maximum of 36 residents at the site, up to 2 per room.

We have a caretaker as well as residential leadership who will be at the premises at all times it is occupied. The facility is secure at night much like a family home would be. None of our other residences have external security or CCTV. However, we may re-consider depending on response of community to ensure the safety and protection of our residents.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for aggression, verbal or physical. This expectation is made very clear during the screening process for all potential new residents and program rules are defined, explained and signed during the intake. This is also demonstrated through the established culture at our facilities. We have an escalation process that includes onsite supervision and mentoring (counselling) staff that live on property with residential leadership & clearly defined lines of communication. We have not had a single call out from any emergency services due to an act of aggression in the 11 years we have been in operation. We have never previously encountered personal intimidation or disagreements from community but this will be included in our process.

In the earlier stages of the program residents are closely supervised and movements to and from the site are generally by bus transport in groups. For home leaves they must be picked up and dropped off by a relative or loved one. We have a process in place and levels of reporting that monitors residents movements, as well as curfews in place for all residents. We also do drug urinalysis and alcohol testing on a regular basis to make sure everyone is abiding by our rules. For paid work they either self-drive like any other person or they are taken to and from by our staff or their employer. The one other factor all of our ladies have in common is that they are in Shalom House to get off any substances they may be on and deal with their life-controlling issues so they can change their life. They are not there to stay on drugs. We don’t even allow smoking or vaping.

As mentioned above, the facility will be rarely occupied by the ladies and their children during school and daycare hours. The children themselves will be at school or daycare and the ladies will be at work. However, we will ensure that our inductions and weekly re-calibration discussions for all residents re-inforces respect and consideration for the nearby school and daycare. Our existing residences have been operating for many years with no safety issues and our existing neighbours are supportive of our program, we are happy for any concerned parties to tour these residences. We will setup and advertise a ‘hotline’ with a designated email address and contact mobile number, so that people can let us know if they have any concerns. We will also have a weekly update meeting between CEO and Whitfords School Principal to discuss key concerns and opportunities for improvement.

All staff and volunteers undergo screening and checks to ensure they are of suitable character. All staff and volunteers have working with children checks. Residents go through rigorous screening process before they are accepted in the program that would identify this type of issue. We have not encountered this issue with any of the women in the program, particularly as most of them have children of their own. We are fully aware of every resident’s criminal convictions if any.

Our ladies have made a choice to change their lives by entering the program. This decision, together with our zero tolerance policy, gives us confidence we will not have any drugs present on the property and we have demonstrated this result at our residences to date.

We are comfortable that the existing fencing is sufficient considering the behaviour, expectations and attitudes of our residents. However, we are willing to discuss installation of additional boundary fencing if that is preference of school.

We do not take people directly from prison where attendance at Shalom is a condition of release. There is no mandatory attendance at Shalom. A key part of our culture is that residents have to choose to change their lives and want to enter Shalom. Residents are free to leave the program at any time if they no longer want to be part of the program.

Since September 2022, Shalom has maintained an open dialogue with Catholic Education Western Australia (representing Whitfords Catholic Primary School), Whitfords Catholic Church, City of Joondalup and with a group called ‘Mercyville Development Community’ who advise that they represent members of the Whitfords Catholic Primary School community, the adjacent daycare centre community, and the broader community of the locality. In relation to these groups, a number of invitations have been made to tour Shalom’s existing facilities in the Swan Valley, and/or to meet at a location of their convenience for an information/Q&A session. That offer remains open. We acknowledge that these groups were waiting for Shalom to lodge a development application as a catalyst for further discussion. The recent advice received from the Western Australian Planning Commission changed Shalom’s previously advised course of action. Shalom’s existing facilities have been operating in residential areas for 11 years, without incident. Over the past 12 years Shalom has proven to the Western Australian community that it is a safe and well-run organisation that to date has had no issues with the community, police or emergency services.

Yes, we have completed stage 2 of AODHSS accreditation. The auditors have our final responses and we expect approval in the coming weeks.

The process is the same for everyone. They must read the website and then ring the intake number. They then answer a series of questions and based on their responses they are given the number of the CEO. He does a phone interview and based on that outcome they are invited for an interview in person. If they are successful they are offered a place in Shalom.

Yes, the Mercyville location is ideal. It is like it was custom made for our needs with the right amenities nearby, the right size and zoning for our needs. If we were shown another location that kept everyone happy we would be happy to relocate

No. They are dropped at the nearest train station with enough money to call someone or catch a train.

That was a one off occurrence in the 11 years of operation, the person knocked on neighbours door to ask to use phone. It was an amicable interaction of less than 5 minutes. In addition, it happened in the evening, at which time the school would be closed and unattended by children.

We have a peer-support therapeutic community model for rehabilitation. This means the residents live together and help each other. We are a working rehab with all residents going to work during the day before coming home at night like a normal member of society. This is backed up by weekly mentoring, various churches 2 times a week and outings on the weekend like the beach or a bushwalk. Structure, routine and firm boundaries with behaviour is the expectation and the norm.

The Craigie residence will house ladies in stage 1 through to 5 of the program. Stage 5s can also live out in the community in their own housing.

We do not take anyone that is high, drunk or hasn’t slept. This is screened out and automatically disqualifies them from entering our program. Abstaination duration depends on what they are withdrawing from and how much. All of our new intakes see a GP within the first 48 hours and undergo a full blood screen. Anyone that has high risk drugs for withdrawl such as methadone, Xanax or alcohol must start the process themselves before we consider taking them in to our program.

No. Friends and family are not allowed to visit. The premises are for residents only. At stage 2 of the program and after at least 3 months a resident becomes eligible for a home leave in which case they are picked up from the property by a family member at 5pm on a Friday afternoon and dropped off at 5pm on a Sunday afternoon. Even then the family members are not allowed access other than to pick up and drop off.

We have a caretaker as well as residential leadership and staff who will be at the premises at all times it is occupied. The facility is secure at night much like a family home would be. The ladies that come into our care are not hardened criminals with people chasing them for outstanding drug debts, we have a very stringent screening process. The children are children and that is self-explanatory.

We are in the process of formulating a risk assessment specifically related to the location of Mercyville. Yes we have an emergency response plan. We would be open to share these on request.

The reason that Mercyville was chosen was that it was specifically zoned for our use. It was what we were told to look for after 12 years of court battles. The Mercyville location is ideal. It is like it was custom made for our needs with the right amenities nearby, the right size and zoning for our needs. No. Young children will be in daycare during the day while their mums are at work.

By calling the Operations number during business hours 0473883914

We have night time curfews in place for all residents and anyone that breaches this has their privileges revoked. All bags are thoroughly searched on intake and on return from home leave. Loved ones that wish to drop belongings off must do so at our offices at a different location. We also do drug urinalysis and alcohol testing on a regular random basis to make sure everyone is abiding by our rules. The one other factor all of our ladies have in common is that they are in Shalom House to get off any substances they may be on and deal with their life-controlling issues so they can change their life. They are not there to stay on drugs. We don’t even allow smoking. We have a duty of care to all of our residents as well as the community.

There will be some initial cleanup for up to one month as the residents move in. This may mean additional activity during the day by a small maintenance crew. From this time the general activity will commence with vehicle movements generally occurring before and after school hours as women and children head off to work, school and daycare.

We are always open to discussions with government on suitable location for Shalom properties. We welcome anyone from the government at any level to help us find a location that we are fully welcomed, appropriately zoned and consistent with the requirements of Shalom. To date this hasn’t been successful with no alternatives suggested.

We currently have an independent research team of academics mining and processing 11 years of qualitative and quantitative data so we can answer this question accurately. We have a high success rate among those who have changed their lives and succeeded by graduating our program.

No, we don’t do an intake on anyone on parole into our program. We are not a get-out-of-jail- free card that can be played.

No and no. This facility is for women and children only.

Yes, Men and Women will always remain housed separately. We have 2 suitable properties located elsewhere for our Men’s program. We are not considering changing this.

These relate to financial audits. The annual financial statement and auditors independent report are available through the ACNC.

Simply put, your children will not be in direct contact with the children of our residents unless you are willing to have them join the school.

No. Everything is assessed by an independent psychiatrist or doctor who makes the decisions with full consultation with the resident. We take instruction from a medical professional.

We have a full time registered nurse as well as three other medical staff, however they are not onsite at all times. Anyone who becomes acutely unwell will be transported to Joondalup Health Campus by our Resident Care department.

We don’t have patients, per say, we call them residents. There is always onsite supervision after hours with clearly defined delegations of authority and lines of communication.

The residents will only be there after hours. In the 12 years of operation we have not had anyone come on property causing breaches of a VRO/FVRO, however should a breach occur we would follow emergency procedures as an anyone in the public would and call 000. I am sure the school has its own protocols in place for students/parents that similarly have VROs over them.

No. Stage 3 and 4 residents that do have licenses and cars will be able to park in the carpark or in the garages after hours. We are confident that the number of existing carparks is suitable for our use.

We don’t allow visitations on any shalom property. The ladies leave to go to work during the day and return after school hours.

No.

All possible due diligence has been taken. We haven’t any plans to add security measures or create physical/visual barriers other than what is already there. We would hope that nobody would be attempting to come into or look into our property from the school while our ladies are at home.

We have a Male caretaker as well as staff and residential leadership who will be at the premises at all times it is occupied. The facility is secure at night much like a family home would be. The ladies that escape domestic violence don’t advertise where they are going and are immensely brave to break out of that cycle of abuse.

If a resident in unable to go to work supervision will be provided at property. If child is unwell and not able to go to work with the resident then both will stay at the property with supervision.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for aggression, verbal or physical. This expectation is made very clear during the screening process for all potential new residents and program rules are defined, explained and signed during the intake. We have onsite supervision and mentoring (counselling) staff that live on property with residential leadership & clearly defined lines of communication. We have not had a single call out from any emergency services due to an act of aggression in the 12 years we have been in operation. In addition our residents will generally not be there during school/daycare hours.

We have a number of rules and processes in place for all residents and anyone that breaches this has their privileges revoked (such as home leaves cancelled, their mobile phone confiscated or additional duties). If the breach is significant, and depending on the intent of the breach, they will be told to leave the program. This has happened many times over our operating history. Residents who leave the program often request to re-enter the program after a period of time. They go through the intake process again to review their motivation and intent to change before their application is accepted.

Yes please, that would be most welcome! Donations 0475 576 972

Take the First Step

Are you or someone you care about grappling with addiction or life-controlling issues?

Please explore the resources on this site thoroughly before reaching out for assistance. If someone you love is facing addiction, discover effective ways to guide them toward the path of positive change. Together, we can embark on a transformative journey towards a healthier and more fulfilling life.

0488 661 725 Contact Us