Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to share with the House some great news for the electorate of Forde. In 2016 the government announced a $986,000 grant to construct six new family recovery units at Logan House recovery centre. This month I was very pleased to turn the first sod for that project. I'm very excited to say that construction is now officially underway on these new units, which will help parents with young children access rehabilitation services. The Logan House recovery centre provides vital accommodation to facilitate access to drug and alcohol rehabilitation services for parents with children, and the new family accommodation units will help even more towards breaking that cycle of addiction.

We in this place all know that addiction affects not only those suffering the addiction but also others around them in their home and the wider community. In particular it is hard for children with parents who have untreated addiction problems. At Logan House, where they provide a valuable support network for these people, these units will now allow them to accommodate families. Thanks to the coalition government's grant, three two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units are under construction, so the centre will be able to provide this vital accommodation for parents from early next year. Each unit comes with an attached kitchen, bathroom and living room and there is a shared outdoor room, giving each family the independence and the security they so desperately need and deserve.

I would like to thank Lives Lived Well CEO Mitchell Giles and the entire team not only for the work they do in our community but for their commitment to expanding their services. Now that the building of the family recovery units at Logan House is underway, parents with young children are a step closer to having the support services necessary to deal with the scourge of drug and alcohol addiction and, importantly, access to professional rehabilitation services to assist them to recover. When I spoke with Mr Giles at the sod-turning he explained that parents often struggle to get the help they need for their problems because they don't have the support services around them. These new family units mean parents can live with their children and have them cared for while they are receiving the intensive support they need to get back on their feet.

Lives Lived Well's Logan House has a long history of working with people using these evidence-based therapies. I wish them every success with this project.