Our Vision
Journeys are made in Central Australia by and for young people to get the self-respect, trust, courage and skills to have a good life – because grog, sniffing, drugs and crime are no good.
(Vision developed by Aboriginal and non-aboriginal young people and families in meetings under trees and in dry creek beds around Alice Springs)
What we do
BushMob run a 5 bed residential treatment facility with 4 unfunded beds which we charge for. The Bush Adventure Therapy Outreach Team. The BushMob Media Family Support Program. Activities with remote communities like the BushMob / Santa Teresa Community Horse Culture Program.
A Message from the BushMob Director – Will MacGregor
Hi from Will,
Welcome to our webpage.
BushMob is all about trying to remind young people and their families that Substance Misuse isn’t a crime or shame job but usually just people losing their way in really difficult personal or other circumstances and forgetting that they have the ability to make positive choices in life.
We see our job as supporting people to remember that they have these choices and maybe remember who they are under the pain.
BushMob is based in Alice Springs as it allows us to access specialist clinical services, medical, psychological, psychiatric and so on, while still doing work out bush.
We have a mainly Aboriginal Board of Management but are an incorporated body under the NT Associations Act, Section 9. We try to encourage local Aboriginal employment in our service and usually have a staff ratio of 50-50.
While mainly an Northern Territory wide service, we do take referrals from other states when we can. We work with young men and women between the ages of 12 to 25. On Bush trips we will work across ages as substance abuse is an inter-generational issue.
We started by talking in the riverbed, under trees and out bush to see what people across cultures in Central Australia thought about going bush as a way of detoxing, being with good people and culture and beginning healing.
This took six years and then we also took on a Northern Territory Government facility and 5 treatment beds. There are actually 9 beds but 4 are not funded so we use the 4 unfunded beds as fee for service.
The Bush Work and BAT Outreach feeds into the house and vice versa. We also found some funding to employ one person to establish and maintain a Media Program. The Media Department enables people to express themselves through film, video, music, social networking as well as setting up this webpage.
We have worked hard to create mutually respectful and productive partnerships with some Central Australian Remote Communities such as Santa Teresa where we run the Horse / Culture Treks.
People in the Bush already know what they want in terms of services.
We continue to fight for the rights of Young People to access Treatment for Substance Abuse issues. We still find that there are many Treatment Services for Adults, but a severe shortage of Treatment Services for Young People.
Don’t Young People have the same addiction issues as Adults?
Thanks for the look, contact us if you want to know more.
Best wishes,
Will MacGregor
Director
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