By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A COUNSELLING group which focuses on supporting people whose loved ones suffer from drug and alcohol addictions will be invited to hold a presentation at Casey council.
The invitation comes after River Gum Ward councillor Damien Rosario joined the group for its monthly meeting last week, which is run out of the Hallam Medical Group facility on Tuesday nights.
Cr Rosario sat in as members of the group shared their personal and ongoing experiences of trying to help family members who are battling severe addictions.
“My first impression was that I saw knowledge and experience in the room,” Cr Rosario said.
“It caught my attention just the way people were talking about their experiences but also having constructive solutions.
“One person said they had a problem with their son, someone else offered a solution.
“It was a sharing and networking of knowledge.”
In addition to inviting the group to present to a Casey council general purposes meeting in the near future, Cr Rosario said he would help the group advocate for funding in his capacity as a local politician.
The Vision of Hope program is run voluntarily by the team at Hallam Medical Group and any expenses are paid for out of the clinic’s own budget.
“What they’ve got is a beautiful framework but I can give them a hand with project management stuff, get their systems more online,” Cr Rosario said.
“Secondly I’m inviting them to speak at the general purposes meeting so that they can discuss to council about what they do and seek support, and we can see what council can do to help a group like this.
“It’s also about project management and also getting business on board to support the program.
“All these businesses nearby, they could sponsor these type of activities and in return this could get the program some financial support.”
Mental health nurse Lyndsey Coutet, who helps run the Vision of Hope program, welcomed the opportunity for a council representative to visit the group.
“It means a lot because there are a lot of people coming from different places and it’s great for council to know about us and they can hear our problems and what the families are going through,” Mr Coutet said.
“That’s what we want, we want awareness – we want people to know this group exists.”
For more information, and to join Vision of Hope, contact the Hallam Medical Group on 9796 5400.
