Ngwala offers rehabilitation programs for Aboriginal men & women
Ngwala provides individuals and families support through a range of outreach and residential services aimed at holistic health and healing. These span alcohol and other drug misuse, housing and homelessness, family violence and others. Outreach services provide assistance to Aboriginal people who are able to maintain themselves in the community, while receiving help from Ngwala programs.
Aboriginal Alcohol & Drug Outreach Programs
Ngwala’s Outreach Services are staffed by a committed group of experienced professionals skilled in drug and alcohol work. They work with Aboriginal people to address a variety of issues. A range of program options are offered such as linkages with housing, drug and alcohol counselling, youth focused programs, legal services, health services and other specialist services that our clients may need.
Outreach Services also act as a referral point for Aboriginal people seeking to use Ngwala’s rehabilitation and specialist drug and alcohol detoxification services. They also provide a range of services to other agencies such as professional development and training for staff of mainstream agencies, cultural audits to assist agencies deliver culturally appropriate services to Aboriginal people and assist funding agencies in formulating policy in the drug and alcohol field.
Specialist Homelessness
The Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) provides Indigenous men, women, families and youth who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness with timely access to assistance and/or referral. The program provides access to short term/crisis accommodation in Southern and Eastern Metropolitan Melbourne.
Family Violence Program
Our Specialist Family Violence Case Managers provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specific programs and support to victims/survivors and perpetrators across the Southern Region.
We offer case management, outreach, advocacy, information, referrals, risk assessments and access to a range of Ngwala programs to support the healing journey and goals of impacted community members.
Clinical Services Unit
The Clinical Services Unit (CSU) is responsible for the clinical assessment, admission processes, case management monitoring and provision of counselling services for all referrals to the Ngwala network of Residential Rehabilitation Centres.
Each individual is thoroughly assessed, allowing Ngwala to make informed clinical decisions on the client’s suitability for the program and the treatment goals and needs of each individual client. This process also enables Ngwala to determine which centre best suits and what early interventions are needed.
Innovative Health Services – Homeless Youth (IHSHY) Koori Youth Programs
The IHSHY program supports Aboriginal young people in the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The program has a strong focus on Aboriginal young people that are at risk of entering the youth justice system and works in collaboration with the Koori Youth Justice Worker and other workers and agencies in the sector.
Intensive support is provided through assertive outreach to ensure that Aboriginal young people reduce their risk factors and develop resilience. The IHSHY Worker can assist with the engagement of at-risk young people to both support and refer them to specialist services in relation to their physical, financial, housing, legal, education and other identified needs.
Statewide Program VISHN
The role of the Victorian Indigenous Statewide Homelessness Network (VISHN) is to support network members to represent the homelessness and housing needs of their communities; provide comment on policy and practice based on this knowledge; and develop reliable and consistent practice and service outcomes across the state.
Koori Access Program
The primary focus of KAP is to improve the access and treatment completion rates of Aboriginal adults and/or young people to the Melbourne metropolitan based network of Adult and Youth Community Residential Withdrawal (CRW) centres.
The program employs a male and female worker to support and assist direct referrals and or those clients that have been referred to the program from rural based Koori AOD Workers. KAP workers can support clients through the CRW assessment, intake and treatment process and with any post withdrawal treatment needs that have been identified as part of their clients Individual Treatment Plan.
KAP workers have developed a collaborative working relationship with the staff at the Melbourne-based withdrawal centres and can assist these agencies in their engagement of Aboriginal clients as well as their cultural awareness and professional development requirements. The program undertakes quarterly visits to rural-based Aboriginal organisations in Victoria to provide information updates and training to Koori AOD workers and their management.