Page 4934 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 October 2010
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example of his commitment to ensure that the local Hungarian community has some commonality to get together on.
Koolamon Restoration
MR COE (Ginninderra) (5.56): This evening it is a pleasure to stand up to commend all those involved with a venture called Koolamon Restoration. I do not think many people in the territory would be aware of the magnificent work which happens through this organisation in the lives of people who are recovering from addictions of different sorts.
Koolamon Restoration is a joint venture with Church Army and Koolamon Fellowship, and it is a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program based on the Church Army’s successful programs in the United States and also in the Blue Mountains. It is a model based on Christian values which also uses the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. It also has a partnership with Housing ACT, and I understand they have got a property or two in the Woden area where they assist those in their programs. They have a 12-month program where phase 1 goes for two to three months with a focus on the 12-step AA program, and then phase 2 includes employment and full-time education or volunteer work.
It really was quite inspiring going to a dinner a couple of months ago to hear about the great work and to hear some testimonies of people that are either going through the program or have recently completed it. What was pretty amazing was the consistent testimony whereby people went into the program thinking, “What can I get from it?” but by the end they were saying, “What can we give?” I think that is a wonderful testament that people who have gone through this program are determined to actually help others who are going through similar experiences that they once went through.
We heard of people that had been released from the AMC and were looking to move on with their lives, and the Koolamon Restoration was there to give them that assistance. There were a number of case studies we heard, and they really were inspiring and motivational. I think everyone who was at the International Church in Belconnen who heard these testimonies really had the utmost admiration for the achievements of these people in spite of the tremendous adversity they have faced just recently.
I would like to commend Tim Scheuer from Church Army Australia and also Dr Tim O’Neil, who is a GP working out of Dickson. He is the local champion of Koolamon Restoration, and Tim is doing some superb work. He has got so much energy; he has always got umpteen projects on the go, and he really is a great asset to the organisation and, indeed, to the Canberra community.
I encourage everyone to find out a little bit more about Koolamon Restoration. You can contact them by email at koolamon@spin.net.au or come to my office and I will happily pass on some more contact details.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
The Assembly adjourned at 6 pm until Tuesday, 26 October 2010, at 10 am.
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