A drug detoxification at home program will start in Orange within a few weeks.
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It will be the next step in the development of the Wyla alcohol and drug residential support service, run by Lives Lived Well, which celebrated its first anniversary on Monday.
Wyla, formed from the combination of LLW's Wattlegrove and Lyndon Withdrawal Unit programs, offers live-in support programs lasting three months at its Bloomfield base.
LLW CEO Mitchell Giles said the at-home program would benefit people who were unable to leave their homes for the live-in detox and rehabilitation programs.
That opens it up to more people.
- Mitchell Giles, CEO, Lives Lived Well
"Instead of having to come and stay here overnight, we can either come to you or you can come in here," he said.
"That opens it up to more people. If I've got a dog I don't want to leave behind or I'm close to my family members or my substance abuse issue doesn't require me to come into an overnight stay I can come off it at home," he said.
"We noticed in our other services it opens it up to women, because generally they have got commitments they can't let go of.
"If they have got small children they can detox at home because they can't bring their kids into here."
Methamphetamines (ice) was the primary drug of concern for 30 per cent of people who used Wyla's rehabilitation program in 2018-19.
"This represented an increase of 50 per cent on the previous year," a Wyla statement said.
"Alcohol remained the primary drug of concern for the majority of people [56 per cent] seeking rehabilitation support."
It said 318 people were supported by Wyla in the last financial year.
That included 75 people entering the three-month rehabilitation program and 243 people participating in the detoxification program.
Wyla manager Pnina Smith said they had 18 rehabilitation beds and 10 for detoxification at the centre.
She said the services were available to men and women over 18 years old.
"It is right across the board although the 40 to 60 year olds are a high percentage," she said.
Lives Lived Well also provides the separate live-in rehabilitation program for women, Elouera, in Orange.
Member for Orange Phil Donato told the anniversary gathering Wyla played a vital role in the battle with drugs in the Central West.
"It is really important because families are often at their wits-end with children or with spouses or with relatives who are addicted to substance, whether it be drugs or alcohol," he said.
"I know the scourge [methamphetamines] is in our community.
"I've seen it first hand. It is very problematic in the Central West."
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