Family Drug Support in Leura, New South Wales | Non-profit organisation

Family Drug Support

Locality: Leura, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 4782 9222

Address: PO Box 7363 2780 Leura, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.fds.org.au

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• Non-profit organisation
• Social service

25.01.2022 Our Stepping Stones, Stepping Forward sessions, and our Support Groups are now starting to open. Please check our website for the latest information. www.fds.org.au

24.01.2022 Online Support/Counselling from FDS The first 70 minutes is free To make an appointment click on the below link https://sage.fm/fds

22.01.2022 We have launched 1 to 1 online sessions. Click on the link below https://sage.fm/fds

21.01.2022 Tomorrow 14th August marks a milestone birthday for my lovely wife Sandra. She will turn 70 and I want to thank her for everything she has done for me. She has been my rock and support for the past 25 years. Personally she helped me through some really hard times She co-founded Family Drug support with me and others and she has looked after our wonderful volunteers and the telephone line. the last two years have been difficult for her and i wish her a great day and many more to come. I am lucky. Tony

20.01.2022 Do you live in Queensland? Have you been to a Stepping Forward Session? These educational sessions are FREE for EVERYONE and provides information and support, relating to alcohol and other drug use.... There are 3 sessions available: 1. Stages of Change and 'Balance Pole' 2. Alcohol and Other Drug Information 3. Effective Communication. Follow the links to find when a Stepping Forward session will be near you. https://familydrugsupport.eventbrite.com.au https://www.fds.org.au/stepping-forward-qld

17.01.2022 Statement from The Honourable John Della Bosca (AM) Chair of Family Drug Support To All Staff and Volunteers, It is with great pleasure, that I advise that Mr Tony Trimingham (OAM), Founder of FDS, will be continuing in his vital role as Chief Executive Officer for another three (3) years. Under Tony’s stewardship, FDS has:... Stabilised and increased the annual funding base for FDS from less than $0.5m to almost $3m today including the addition of $900,000 (over 3 years) being awarded by the Federal Government for the national phone line; Secured funding from a range of PHNs, Club Grants and corporate sponsorships. Expanded the reach of FDS into regional QLD and South Australia including the recruitment of additional personnel for these areas. Greatly increased public awareness of FDS as being Australia’s only national organisation supporting families dealing with alcohol and other drug use. In collaboration with NADA, implemented a 2-year health worker education programme to increase awareness of families’ role in supporting their loved ones. Developed and expanded National FDS Day into International FDS Day. Further developed FDS Online including the online learning package Stages of Change. Further developed and improved the FDS newsletter Insight. Establishing online membership recruitment and payments. Increased the social media profile on FDS on a range of platforms, particularly Facebook. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank Tony for the contribution he has and continues to make in advancing the role and profile of FDS both in supporting families and raising community awareness of the importance of harm minimisation. Tony Trimingham's response: I am very grateful for the confidence and support that John Della Bosca and the board of FDS have shown in me. Thank you also to the staff and volunteers who I have the privilege of working with. I will continue to build on FDS achievements continuing our innovative ways of supporting families and ensuring we continue our work well into the future. We know that families want to keep the people they love and care for alive and safe and FDS will continue to raise the focus on the need for increased harm reduction and drug law reform. I also want to take this opportunity to thanks Sandra Lines for her leadership of the FDS Volunteer Program and I also welcome her continued appointment in this important role for a further 3 years.

16.01.2022 Gratitude and love to all of the cherished friends, advocates and grassroots organizations who are the wings beneath our sail! A very special shout out to Mary ...Kay Villaverde, Dee-Dee Stout, Jenna Mellor and Caitlin O'Neill for all of the amazing support and expertise in helping to get this show on the road. A most heartfelt acknowledgement to FDS founder, Tony Trimingham for his incredible vision, and to Harm Reduction pioneer, Dr. Andrew Tatarsky for providing us a safe haven at the Center for Optimal Living!. Family Drug Support USA Brings Renowned International Model to New Jersey, Join us on Nov. 20 for a Virtual Gathering in Light and Love REGISTER NOW! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-meeting-family-drug-su TRENTON - In response to New Jersey’s overdose crisis, a group of impacted parents and advocates are launching the Family Drug Support USA program, in New Jersey. According to a release, the launch kicks off Oct. 2, with a listening session to hear directly from New Jersey families affected by overdose and the punitive drug war. https://www.capemaycountyherald.com//article_12673e74-041a The Family Drug Support program offers support, evidence-based strategies, and coping tools to improve health and wellness of families impacted by substance use and fatal overdose. The program is a project of the nonprofit Families for Sensible Drug Policy (FSDP). It is the first U.S introduction of the innovative, successful family drug support model pioneered by Tony Trimingham, in Australia, since 1999. FSDP co-founder Carol Katz Beyer is the force behind bringing family drug support to the U.S., starting with New Jersey. Carol was honored and privileged to represent the family voice in the 2019 Global Commission on Drug Policy annual report. Her testimony about losing two of her beloved sons to fatal overdoses was featuredalong with only six other people from around the worldto spotlight the harms inflicted upon our families through prohibition and the War on Drugs. Families have a vital role in the development and resolution of how substance use impacts their homefor far too long our families have not been afforded the opportunity to engage as active participants and problem-solvers. We are told to practice tough love, but tough love fails our children, again and again. Family Support USA offers a different approach, one of radical love and harm reduction, to our families, stated Beyer, parent advocate and co-founder of Families for Sensible Drug Policy. Family Drug Support USA offers an alternative to the tough love model of family support, which tells families that they are enabling or co-dependent if they do not want to leave their child without a safe space to sleep or access to food and support once they learn their child is using illicit drugs. Family Drug Support USA helps families learn and tailor best practices like motivational interviewing and harm reduction to suit their unique needs, in an environment of support and non-judgement. As someone who has personally struggled with problematic substance use and lost a child to illicit drug toxicity, finding Family Drug Support has been a gift I only wish I had when the 'experts' were telling us the only answer to SUD IS tough love and abstinence-only programs. Family Drug Support promotes loving, common sense, stated Mary Kay Villaverde, parent advocate and leader at Families for Sensible Drug Policy. "One of the biggest barriers for people who use drugs is stigma: external and internal. We fear that our families, friends, and support systems will judge our choices, especially if we return to use after a period of lauded abstinence. That shame and stigma leads us to use in secret, adn use behind closed doors when we return to use" stated Caitlin O'Neill, director of Harm Reduction Services at the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition. "We die behind those closed doors, without letting someone know to look out for us. Stigma-free support from our loved ones allows us to let them into our process and care for us the way they instinctively know how to." This year alone, over 2,000 families in New Jersey have lost their loved ones. Behind every fatal overdose, behind every person who is incarcerated for their substance use, is a family that is grieving, a family that deserves support. We are honored to partner with Families for Sensible Drug Policy to bring family support to New Jersey, stated Jenna Mellor, founding member and Executive Director at the New Jersey Harm Reduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NknO85cAtBs

16.01.2022 FDS has produced a series of videos following the journeys of several people over a 7 month period. Please click on the below link to take you to the resource https://www.fdsonline.org.au/

15.01.2022 Have you read Not My Family, Never My Child’? It is a practical handbook for anyone who suspects (or knows) someone they care about is drug user. Written by Family Drug Support’s Our CEO and founder Tony Trimingham. Order your copy today via the website or call Head Office on 02 4782 9222... http://www.fds.org.au/media/tony-s-latest-book

15.01.2022 An article from 2017, written by Tony for the Daily Telegraph 16.2.17 and its still relevant today "Talking tough appeals more to pollies than fixing our drug problems"

15.01.2022 Sandra and I are incredibly sad today to hear of the passing of FDS co founder Estelle adamek. With her husband Ed she was a major contributor to the early days.... She was compassionate, funny, intelligent and wise. We will miss her. Estelle loved her family and they will be heartbroken. Our thoughts are with them especially Ed. See more

13.01.2022 A FDS volunteer's feedback from a caller to the Support Line regarding our online resource. 'She last called us 7 years ago but felt at the time she was not ready for FDS as she was determined to "fix" her partner's herion addiction, more recently she watched the online support group and raved about them, said they have changed her life. It was clear to me she is at a stage of acceptance and great wisdom and she credited the videos with that, so I just wanted to pass on that ...feedback' To access our online resource please click on the following link to our website and click on 'Family Drug Support Online for Families' in the top left corner. https://www.fds.org.au/

13.01.2022 Important information from NSW Health: "Drug warning: Heroin may contain fentanyl and acetylfentanyl, which are dangerous opioids" https://www.health.nsw.gov.au//heroin-may-contain-fentanyl

12.01.2022 New video explaining pill testing A new animation video that was produced by Dancewize, Pill Testing Australia and SSDP Australia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWjgsZ4lt-4&feature=youtu.be

11.01.2022 An FDS COVID-19 Response National Leadership by Innovation Continues Co-Founder and CEO of Family Drug Support (FDS), Tony Trimingham OAM, who started the organisation after encountering a lack of services for families following the death of his son Damien 23 years ago has announced a new innovative initiative to assist families:... In supporting families with alcohol and other drugs issues, FDS has been given the opportunity to gain an incredible depth of understanding and insight into the needs of family members over the past 23 years. In recent times, the impact of COVID-19 has been particularly hard for many families as their access to our support group network, programs and trained staff have been restricted. To help families, wherever they may be located across Australia, FDS is proud to continue its leadership on alcohol and other drug services for families by launching a new online counselling initiative. I have no doubt that family members will welcome the prospect of being able to personally engage with our experienced FDS staff on a safe and secure platform. Family members can access the new service at FDS Video Sage Service This new online counselling initiative, in partnership with Sage.fm, complements the overwhelmingly positive response from families to FDS Online - FDS Online - which is able to show family members what to expect from support groups and how they can assist families to deal with some of the many issues they can face at times. For further information, please contact: Mr Tony Trimingham Co-Founder & CEO Family Drug Support 02 4782 9222 About Family Drug Support Established by Tony Trimingham in 1997, Family Drug Support volunteers take over 25,000 calls to their support line every year. The Service provides 24/7 support (Phone: 1300 368186) and support groups in capital cities and a growing number of regional centres. FDS also offers the Stepping Stones course for families/friends supporting someone with drug and/or alcohol problems. For more information, visit: https://www.fds.org.au/ About the Sage.fm Platform Sage.fm is an Australian owned and developed online consultation platform for experts and businesses wanting to enter or expand their online presence in a professional, safe and secure environment. It provides experts and their clientele with seamless financial transactions and administration, as well as important data so you can concentrate on what matters most - your core business. To ensure the security of your information and work on the platform, the true end-to-end encryption of its video technology is the same as those used by NASA, Facebook and Google see Vonage Sage.fm also uses a highly secure financial transaction system to ensure all your financial information, as well as that of your clientele, is safe and secure see Stripe

11.01.2022 Anna talks about her experiences volunteering with Family Drug Support. If you are interested in joining our volunteer team, click on the following link and submit an expression of interest. https://www.fds.org.au/volunteering-for-fds

10.01.2022 Do you live near Gladstone? Have you been to a Stepping Forward session? These educational sessions are free to families, friends and workers, providing education and support.... The next session in Gladstone is on 19th August covering topics on 'Families Stages of Change' and 'Letting go, and still remain supportive and caring' https://gladstonesteppingforwardstagesofchange.eventbrite.c The following session in Gladstone on the 26th August is on 'Effective communication' covering what works and what doesn't work, plus practical and useful changes that can make a difference'. https://gladstonesteppingforwardcommunication.eventbrite.co Please click on the above links to register in Eventbrite. We look forward to seeing you.

10.01.2022 This sort of facility is not one we would endorse, anyone attending the program is likely to have a negative outcome, and we do not recommend attending the family courses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom_House

09.01.2022 Remembrance Ceremonies Update Our Ashfield Ceremony has been deferred until later in the year - probably October, and we will update Facebook and the website with further information once known. The Kings Cross ceremony is going ahead on Tuesday 21st July 1pm, at the Lawrence Hargrave Reserve in Kings Cross. If there is bad weather on the day it will be cancelled.... Once known the Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne events will be posted on the website and Facebook. The Remembrance Ceremonies are very important to FDS and we want to hold them if it all possible, but we also have to be conscious of the current restrictions.

09.01.2022 Are you feeling isolated and finding it hard to cope? You don't have to do it all on your own. You can learn new skills to help you cope better. You and your family (including the drug/alcohol user) can survive this journey intact. Our 'Stepping Stones' courses are here to guide you through.... Follow the link to find your closest one. https://www.fds.org.au/meetings.../stepping-stones-courses

09.01.2022 FAMILY DRUG SUPPORT IS SEEKING MATURE TELEPHONE VOLUNTEERS! We have upcoming training in Brisbane, Adelaide, Rockhampton, Melbourne and Sydney. If you are able to answer yes to the following 3 questions, and you are interested in helping families and friends of people using alcohol or other drugs, please head over to our website to submit an Expression of Interest:... 1. Do you have a landline telephone? 2. Can you commit to doing 1 shift every 3 weeks for a minimum of 12 months? 3. Are you a good listener? If you answered yes to these 3 questions, and would be interested in volunteering with us, please head over to http://www.fds.org.au/volunteering-for-fds And submit an Expression of Interest. We would love to hear from you!

08.01.2022 Article in the SA Transcontinental Port Augusta newspaper mentions outreach service transport to our Support Group in Port Augusta https://www.transcontinental.com.au//outreach-extended-f/

08.01.2022 Have you been to a Stepping Forward session? These educational sessions are for families and workers providing information and support, relating to alcohol and other drug use. There are 3 sessions available:... 1. Families Stages of Change 2. Alcohol and Other Drug Information 3. Effective Communication Follow the link to find when a Stepping Forward session will be near you. http://www.fds.org.au//stepping-forward-information-sessio

07.01.2022 Good news for Victoria https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/naloxone-save-more-lives-und

06.01.2022 Why Tough Love has no place in the FDS model There is often a debate on ‘tough love’ as an effective strategy for families dealing with alcohol and other drug issues. At FDS we believe that applying punitive strategies is not really effective and, in some cases may lead to more problems than solutions. ‘Tough love’ has not been supported by treatment services and experts around the world. What was more critical in our decision not to recommend it, was listening to the anguish...ed stories of families who regretted having applied the ‘tough love’ strategy. In some cases, ‘tough love’ only resulted in greater levels of anxiety and worry for families. In other cases, the family had lost all contact with the person using drugs and alcohol, and worse still families telling us about tragic deaths by suicide or overdose as a consequence of these actions. This is not to downplay the problems that alcohol and other drugs can cause. We firmly believe that setting effective boundaries with consequences for breaching, that everyone can live with is usually necessary. There is an article on boundary setting on our website https://www.fds.org.au/setting-boundaries, and I would recommend people read this. Setting boundaries should be done in discussion with the person who uses drugs, and a general rule for family members should be ‘Demand what you must and tolerate what you can’. In discussing boundary setting the skills of active listening, assertiveness and negotiation are recommended. We have put together a specific Stepping Forward session on boundary setting and this will be available shortly. For more information please go to the website https://www.fds.org.au/stepping-forward/stepping-forward Tony Trimingham FDS CEO

06.01.2022 Do you live in NSW? Have you been to a Stepping Forward Session? These educational sessions are for families and workers providing information and support, relating to alcohol and other drug use.... There are 3 sessions available: 1. Families Stages of Change. 2. Alcohol and Other Drug Information. 3. Effective Communication. Follow the link to find when a Stepping Forward session will be near you. https://www.fds.org.au//stepping-forward-information-sessi

04.01.2022 International Family Drug Support Day 24 February 2021 Events are being held on 22 February to 26 February To find an event near you, please go to our event page and click on the event you would like to attend. Click on the tickets to register your attendance.... https://www.facebook.com/Family-Drug-Support-1456953221//