By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
OFTEN the first port of call for anyone in trouble is to seek out a GP.
It’s for this reason mental health nurse Lyndsay Coutet felt it was imperative that the Hallam Medical Group provide free drug and alcohol support workshops for the Casey community.
The Stepping Up workshops will start next week for the second year, providing not just addicts with the much-needed support they need, but also their families and friends.
Mr Coutet said last year’s Stepping Up workshops at Hallam Medical Group were the first that Family Drug Support facilitator Michael Miller had held at a medical clinic. A fact Mr Coutet struggled to believe.
“Don’t forget, the first port of call for people is the GP,” Mr Coutet said.
“When we are worried about something we talk to a GP, so we thought that would be a good thing to do, to bring the program here.
“Since we started the program, people have been more educated and less stressed.”
There are three Stepping Up workshops being run this month in Casey, covering general information on alcohol and drugs, stages of change for users and carers, and strategies on how to communicate with someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Mr Coutet – who also co-ordinates the Vision of Hope counselling program for carers of drug users – said the Stepping Up workshops were aimed at showing new people in Casey that help was out there if one is willing to find it.
And in most cases, Mr Coutet said, they are.
“A lot of people don’t know anything about this… they don’t know we exist here,” he said
“Sometimes they want to talk about it and they don’t know where to go.”
The Stepping Up sessions will be held on 13, 20 and 27 April from 6.30pm to 9pm at the Hallam Medical Group – 212 Princes Highway, Hallam.
“This is for people to have an understanding of their loved one who is taking drugs or alcohol, because a lot of the time we don’t know how to communicate with users,” he said.
“Stepping Up is for users and loved ones of users … we want to target the new community, new people … we want to educate the community.
“There’s a lot of taboos about these things and there shouldn’t be.
“At least when you come here, everything is confidential.”
For more information, contact Lyndsay Coutet on 9796 5400.
