Jeff Claughton, CEO of WA based not-for-profit alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre Fresh Start, has seen first hand how alcohol and drug addiction has impacted Australian lives. He says that people underestimate the effects of drugs. Fresh Start aims to address the common misconception that people are to blame for their addiction. Jeff says “I am yet to meet one person who decided to start using drugs or drinking alcohol, knowing they’d become an addict. The biggest barrier to people with addictions seeking help is the shame that society places on them. There is a common misconception ‘addicts simply have bad behaviour’ and it is much deeper than that. Addiction has neurological and psychological effects on the brain and that is why at Fresh Start we have a multifaceted and coordinated approach to recovery.”
Fresh Start Recovery Programme is a medically directed, not-for-profit addiction recovery centre that concentrates on detox and developing a drug-free lifestyle. Fresh Start provides rapid medical detoxification and ongoing support to anyone who asks for help in overcoming alcohol or drug addiction, regardless of their financial or life circumstances. Currently around 1 in 20 people are battling alcohol or substance abuse in Australia. Untreated drug and alcohol addiction causes tens of thousands of hospital admissions and deaths each year, impacting many Australian families across the country. Despite this there is still a stigma attached to addiction, resulting in people remaining untreated and left to cope alone.