Hear from Michael Peattie, Alcohol and Other Drugs Case Worker at Life Without Barriers, on the ripple effect of community-based support.
Michael (centre) with David Twivey (left) and his wife, Beth (right), former managers at the Salvation Army’s Miracle Haven. Michael remains in touch with them today.
Drawing on his experience as a registered nurse and extensive background in mental health, Michael supports people in Newcastle through Onwards Outreach as they make changes around alcohol and other drugs use. He says the idea that “the opposite of addiction is connection” rings very true in his work.
“A lot of the times people don’t have someone to talk to. They don’t have someone that can come with a non-judgmental approach and listen to them. Sometimes just having that to start is the catalyst for change,” Michael explains.
Support from the other side
When he describes the power in this kind of support, Michael also speaks from personal experience. At 22, after leaving a residential alcohol treatment program at the Salvation Army’s Miracle Haven early, he found himself with nowhere to stay and at a very low point.
Feeling overwhelmed, Michael called David Twivey, one of the managers at Miracle Haven, and asked if he could come back. “Where are you? I’ll be there tomorrow morning to pick you up,” David told him.
Michael returned to rehab and completed the program. In the years that followed, he bought a house and completed a degree as he built the life he wanted to live.
“That worker, I can honestly say, pretty much saved my life,” he explains.
Coming full circle
Now, when Michael meets people through his own outreach work, he often thinks back to that experience.
“When I’m going there and I’m waiting for someone, and I see him arrive, walking over, I sort of think – that’s me 20 years ago, but the other way around.”
As traditional appointment-based services can be difficult for some people to access, Michael emphasises that support needs to adapt to the person.
“Just the flexibility of our program to say: hey, we’re here on the phone. You can check in via a message, give us a call, we can meet you at work, in a break. It makes it a lot easier for people to stay engaged,” he explains.
Michael sees how supporting people in the community can offer benefits well beyond the individual.
“We’re not only helping them, we’re helping their children, we’re helping their brothers and sisters, we’re helping their family, their friends, society.”
“Just by helping that one person helps so many people,” he says.
Michael’s story is one of the voices behind our call to put community-based mental health care first. Read more about our Care Beyond Crisis 2027 NSW State Election campaign.
Help build the case for community-based mental health care
Get involved with Care Beyond Crisis using our Supporter Kit, with resources to help you share the campaign, connect with your local MP and build the case for community-based supports.
