A Bunbury not-for-profit, which provides services and resources to help those recovering from addiction, is calling for donations after receiving a high influx of people in need over the festive season.
Since beginning in 2016, Doors Wide Open – founded by mums Lina Pugh and Julie Kent, has grown into an organisation that sees up to 30 people a day, either recovering from addiction or their affected family members.
“We started off with this tiny committee and all we ever thought we were going to do was have a monthly meeting, 18 months later we are sitting in our own building,” Ms Pugh said.
“The thing we are really finding, and we didn’t see coming, is that people who are in addiction are inevitably homeless and they need food, clothes, shoes, toiletries.
“The good thing about having this place as somewhere you can come for food is that the food comes with a bit of a lecture and some information.”
Ms Pugh and Ms Kent’s mission to be the leading support group for addicts and families in the South West was born from their own heart-breaking experiences of seeing their children become addicts and helping them on the road to recovery.
“We knew we wanted to be in crisis care, we wanted to fill the gap that wasn’t filled for us – what I needed when it was my son – and it has just grown from that,” Ms Kent said.
“People need to understand that just because you have an addiction that makes you sick, it doesn’t make you bad.
“We are very aware that we have a very small amount of money to work with, which is why we don’t spend anything we don’t need to and that’s why we rely so heavily on donations and generosity.”
As the organisation continues to grow, the determined mums are planning to create a variety of programs and a recreational room in 2018 where those in recovery can be mentored by others who have gone before them.
“One of the biggest triggers in recovery is boredom so what we are trying to create in the next six months is five or six programs,” Ms Pugh said.
“People can come and interact by having a mental health session, playing pool for an hour, going out to the garden and planting some seeds – all these different kinds of things.
“We haven't met one addict that we don’t like and we haven’t met one that likes what they are doing – as long as people are supported and are in a good place, they can get clean.
“We do this because we are making difference.”
Donations big or small can be dropped off at Doors Wide Open at 42 Forrest Avenue, Bunbury.
For more information contact 9787 9298.
