"The journey to recovery"

A man was homeless with nowhere to go. He approached a lady by the name of Tansy who works for the community housing in Atherton. This man went in to see if there were any vacant units available but at that time there was nothing going. So Tansy put the man in contact with Shanty Creek. Since early this year, this man has been a resident at Shanty Creek, where he has been appointed a case manager and also participated in programs to help him on the right track. The case manager was Lucy who has helped this person on his journey. The man also had an addiction with alcohol. When he first arrived at Shanty Creek he was shy and didn't know what to expect, during the first few weeks - he used these weeks to settle in and get to know the other residents as well as the staff. He found that there were four stages of the Shanty Creek Program, he started off as willy wagtail, then progressed to scrub turkey then to barramundi and then to eagle. He also participated in programs such as ATODS (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Services), Gambling, Health messages with nurse Susan, sexual health, and also family well being. This man has been at Shanty Creek and now and is ready to go back into the community, with the help of his case manager Lucy. He is now able to do shopping for himself, buy new clothes and budget his money and with the help from Tansy at community housing he has now got a two bedroom unit in Atherton on the Tablelands west of Cairns. Recently this man has exited the Shanty Creek program and will start a new journey in the community. He has family around him to support him as well as friends. The man has been at Shanty Creek for most of this year and found the other residents to be like family. He shows his appreciation for what Shanty Creek has offered him. He said "if he hadn't come to Shanty Creek he would be living off the streets and the parks. "

From the staff at Shanty Creek

It's been a pleasure working with this man as he is so polite, well mannered and understanding we wish him the best as he takes the next step of his journey towards a better life.