Velocity Transformations

New leadership...new staff...and community support

Velocity Transformations (VT) is a residential rehabilitation program for men and women from the age of 18 years old.  The program assists people who suffer from drug and alcohol dependency, depression, eating disorders and other life-altering conditions.

A number of important developments have occurred in recent months with our beloved VT program.

1) New Campus Director.    Craig Oosthuizen has joined us from Transformations in Brisbane as our new Campus Director. You can read in detail about Craig and his story in our Staff Spotlight section of this issue of the newsletter. Of particular note is that apart from his own educational qualifications, Craig has a lived experience of life in rehab, and has managed co-ed campuses for Transformations in the past. This is a vital set of experiences for our new women's program due to be opened later this year.

As Campus Director, Craig is responsible for the financial, cultural, OH&S and staff leadership of our Velocity Transformations program. It's a big job, so we gave it to a big fella! Craig, welcome to the family.

2) New Case Manager(s).   Kyle Perry has accepted a permanent appointment to be Case Manager for our VT residents. You will remember Kyle was profiled in our previous issue of Stepping Stones. With the house currently at capacity, and our team managing a waiting list, Kyle is responsible for ensuring our residents' Individual Treatment Plan (ITP) is being followed and that all participants of our evidence-based, faith supported program are fully engaged in their treatment.  We are also currently recruiting for a female case manager to join the team, 3 days per week, to help us support the soon to be opened women's program. Please refer to the We're Hiring section of this newsletter and let any of your suitably qualified friends know about this position.

3)  New Women's Program.   The new men's house (see attached pictures), after delays due to inclement Hobart winter weather, will be opened later in August. The spacious home will have the capacity for up to 14 men in the program, a House Supervisor to live on-site with space for a graduate intern. After the men move in, their current house will then be re-purposed for the women's program to launch later this year. This whole process has been an enormous venture, both in planning and substantial cost, and we liberally thank the good people at Velocity Church for their work and diligence for what has been a 2-year journey.  We also wish to thank all the members of the Tasmanian community who have supported and fundraised for the VT program to help bring this about. Stay tuned for more information in our next issue of Stepping Stones. 

4)  Harcourts Foundation Grant for Break The Cycle fundraiser.   Earlier this year a superhuman group of community supporters cycled some 600 km over 5 days from Launceston down the eastern coast of Tasmania to finish in Hobart, raising funds and awareness for the VT women's program (due to launch later in the year).  Harcourts provided a generous $15,000 grant towards this initiative, with a recent cheque handover ceremony held at their Huonville office (instrumental in sponsoring our grant application). We are so grateful for Harcourts' support of such a worthy cause and commend them to our supporters! This fundraiser will return in April 2020 with a new and exciting route to be announced in an upcoming issue of Stepping Stones.