Our Programs
Thrive, not just survive!
Our day programs may be right for you if:
- You want recovery to be fun, and not a punishment
- You believe in your innate worth, not a lifetime of derogatory labels
- You want the option to stay with your loved ones whilst recovering, not with strangers in strange beds
- You want to upskill beyond your issue, to not be in recovery forever but learn to thrive
- You want to be treated as an equal becoming your best self, not a case to be fixed
- You are looking to become one of life’s winners, not merely survivorsÂ
Our day program is a new generation of rehabilitation for a range of issues. These include but are not limited to
- homelessness
- addiction recovery
- mental health issues (such as anxiety and depressive disorders, adjustment disorders, PTSD)
- recovery from domestic/family violence
- exit counselling from charismatic groups
- existential crises,
- those just struggling in the world (e.g., single parents).
We have a range of staff with varied expertise who can address a vast array of issues.
ACTIVE PROGRAMS
This project seeks to elevate the public profile of artists facing various obstacles or disadvantages. It documents on video the crucial parts of their lives, the highs and lows, that led them to where they are now. It also gives voice to them as a person from the specific background of disadvantage to provide their unique insights to resolving issues they face. It returns dignity to them as people and not just the invisible to be ignored as we walk by. .
Episode 1
Episode 2
It is possible, for those who are approved due to financial impoverishment or many other barriers, to work off their fines. The Break Inc. are approved to undertake this role. A sum of about $60/hr is removed from your fine for each hour worked, or hour of course studied. Counselling is also an option (however counselling and courses have fees attached at rates much lower than the amount it reduces one’s fine debts). The Break Inc has many different tasks to offer WDP people and can accommodate those of different physical capacities and academic levels.
We write the stories of exemplary people who would otherwise go unrecognised. Our first memoir, No Snowflake 1, explored the psychological impact of one Special Forces soldier’s efforts to save life in the military and battle against corruption in his adopted home after his service. He has led an exemplary life which deserves to be documented for future generations. The Break Inc. arranged a biographer (A Baddon) and support team to collect his life story, fact check information and to publish it so he will never be forgotten.Â
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Free Community Festivals
This project seeks to make live music and entertainment available to everyone, not just those who can afford tickets. We seek grants and then partner with other charities (e.g., Park Towers Tenant Management) to run free to public events to bring everyone together and let them forget the troubles of their lives for a short while.
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Kayak River Clean-up crew
We are copying a program run in the Denmark where people are given free kayaking if they collect rubbish while on the water. We have a dedicated kayak team of experienced kayakers who regularly run trips on various rivers and the bay. We have decided that a rubbish clean up combined with a paddle makes good sense. It is a healthy way to spend the day and makes the environment healthier at the same time. Win-win. If you are interested in joining us for this then email info@theBreak.org.au
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Mental Health Ranger and Walks in Nature
This was modelled from the highly successful Scottish program. When the Scottish program was run it was used for depressed people presenting to General Practitioners. The GP would offer either anti-depressants or a tour with the local ranger through the national park. A follow-up review found the walk was more effective in alleviating symptoms than drugs for mild to moderate depression. So, we decided with so many beautiful parks in and around Melbourne we would launch our own program (with value-added extras) in coordination with Melbourne Parks. Our staff arrange tours as often as we have participants interested and can undertake this activity in coordination with other activities or programs we run. We have enhanced the original program to add a picnic lunch, therapeutic arts, yoga, mindfulness, games and mediation.
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Kayak Day Tour Group
A healthy, prosocial, proactive and environmentally sound way to spend the day is to kayak one of Melbourne’s waterways. Towards this undertaking The Break bought 112 tandem kayaks. We take eskys with food and drinks to spend a day on the water. This is undertaken as a tour to see a different angle of Melbourne rarely seen or in combination with fishing. We have experienced kayak guides to help control the kayak for those not experienced in paddling. All trips are following a paddle lesson so you can hit the water confident you know what to do. We have lost no one (we like) yet so feel free to join us.
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Self-Improvement Social Club
Research has found a precursor of addiction, loneliness, many mental health issues and even physical health complaints is social disconnection. Humans are mammals and are hard wired to be social beings, however, many of us for a multitude of reasons find ourselves without a social, let alone, a support network. To combat this issue The Break Inc. have developed a stigma-free social club that runs regular activities where the socially disconnected can participate in various social activities which may include simple activities like coffee shop visits, picnics, movie groups, right through to hiking, kayaking or more adventurous activities. Activities are designed around what participants want to do. The rule of attendance is no one is allowed to ask anyone else why they feel a need to attend. Self-disclosure is initiated only by each individual, it cannot be solicited by others. This ensures everyone relates to each other as people and does not need to disclose any parts of their lives they may be uncomfortable to share.
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Group Therapy
It is not well understood in Melbourne that the Medicare system has a provision for group therapy, but it is so cumbersome to activate in reality it is almost never used. For some people this group format of therapy is more effective than individual therapy, as this peer support is very effective for vicarious learning and helps participants develop a support network they can rely on when away from their therapist (who typically is minimally available, if at all, between sessions). To avoid the unworkable rules set by Medicare on psychologists we employ postgraduate qualified counsellors to facilitate groups. This allows us to operate when Medicare rules would otherwise stop groups operating for having too few (i.e., 5 or less) or too many (i.e., 11 or more) attendees. These sessions are run for less than a typical psychology gap fee ($20 each participant), so can supplement support after the Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions run out or between sessions, if you are not using the services of one of our counsellors already.
We also run topics groups on specific areas such as Anger Management, Mindfulness and Relapse Prevention to delve deeper into these specific area which are of specific interest to some people
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Work for the Dole
The Break are hosting this program to (1) assist our various projects with extra labour, (2) helping people meet their Centrelink requirements, and (3)Â provide opportunities for upskilling. A Work for the Dole placement with us is more interesting than mopping floors and emptying bins. We will gladly help you develop into a social enterprise entrepreneur, or at least support those already doing this work. Furthermore, you could get hands on in the community helping to run different projects if that is what interests you. We need people for roles in admin, research, project management, team management, right through to property maintenance. In this way we support people to avoid the often oppressive-feeling oversight of Centrelink while doing something of worth for the community. We are also happy to write glowing references to high performers and earnest contributors.
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Elderly check-ins
This involves sending volunteers to check-in on elderly people (especially our veteran and veteran widow community) who often report they lack adequate social support. Our volunteers do things such as sit for a chat and a cup of tea, assist with basic computer skills, help pay bills online (especially during the pandemic) and some help tidying up. We often send multiple volunteers, some completing WDP, so gardening and similar tasks can be completed.
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Therapeutic Art
We recognise not everyone can express and purge the feelings which weigh them down. Art offers an amazing tool to release pent up emotions and find expression where words fail them. We undertake this via Expression Through Art (ETA) and Art In Motion (AIM), the latter of which is undertaken outdoors on mental health walks or kayak trips.
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Food Donations
The Break support disadvantaged people with food donations. This is undertaken by collecting food and then providing it either directly to homeless and disadvantaged people, or to various support organisations who have soup kitchens (e.g., Christ Church Mission). We provide to such organisations in the South-Eastern suburbs
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Educational Role-Playing Games (DnD)
The Break have combined the collective wisdom of their academic staff, people of lived experience, parents of children with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and a games master. After research identified that role playing games (like Dungoens and Dragons) were particularly beneficial to people with ADHD/ASDs, our team custom designed games to facilitate the benefits even further. We now have online and face-to-face games available which can be accessed via NDIS or fee-for-service personal payments. Although the games can benefit certain players they are open to anyone to play.
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Day Program
The Break offers people a day program unlike any other. We run true reintegration training for people recovering from addictions and anger issues. Whereas most programs never allow participants to leave the 4 white walls of their facility during the program, we do actual training in society where it is needed to be implemented. We provide resilience training, and not just in one’s imagination from within a therapists office. In this way participants can be sure to know they can apply the skills in the real world before leaving the program. We also offer a wide scope of treatment options to address the many contributing factors to addictions and anger. Our project runs as a day program with people being dropped off between 8 and 9am, and exiting the facility between 5-6pm. In this way those needing monitoring can be dropped off by family and collected by family outside of work hours. This is a fee-for-service program. It can also provide assessment and reports for court or other purposes. Counselling, case management, adventure therapy, group therapy, and more are all included in the program.Â
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Veteran Support
The Break is led by an ex-ADF member and ensures that a signficant portion of their services are provided to the veteran community free of charge.
The Break provides fortnightly support to the veteran community with social activities (BBQs, morning teas), and outdoor activities (picnics, kayaking). Beyond this The Break have been supporting the veteran community with food and clothes donations.
The Break has also developed an extensive report which they have used to lobby politicians to try to get veterans free solar panels to reduce their rising power bills. The Break also provides case managers and counsellors to help veterans with personal & practical needs.
Technology Support for Disabilities
Our resident technical genius has a pedigree in assisting people with disabilities to access technologies to simplify their lives. For example, he assisted a blind client to use a mobile phone app, which when he holds the phone over a newspaper it will read the text aloud to him. Other technologies he can also integrate into their lives such as talking canes, talking scales/microwave, and many other phone apps. He also undertakes training in how to use the computer and technology regardless of disability.
Counselling
The Break recognised that the standard $100 gap fee for psychology was beyond the reach of most clients, let alone the full $200-250 fee. To make mental health treatment affordable The Break sourced postgraduate qualified counsellors with life experience and charge just $50/session. We also ensured that waiting lists were reduced to 48hrs (at the most if we cannot get you in on the same day). We also have male and female counsellors offering a variety of different languages (eg Mandarin, Cantonese, Polish, Spanish, Hindi).Â
Active Think Tank
The Break don’t have ground breaking ideas out of nowhere. We employ our team of postgrads to identify an area poorly supported. We then do a deep dive into intensively researching what has been achieved internationally in this area (often taking 4-7 months), look at combining all the best elements into one program, adjust this synthesis of ideas to an Australian context, and then implement our new program for at least a pilot (if not an ongoing concern). To date we have completed studies, if not pilots also, on:
1. Tiny Homes village for the disadvantaged
2. Addressing intervention orders & overhauling anger management (parts tested on indigenous offenders to rave reviews)
3. Youth diversion (our pilot of 2 cohorts over 8 months achieved achieved a 0% recidivism rate)
4. Shoplifting offender treatment (no new arrests of youth who completed parts of this program in 6 month)
5. Bullying
We are currently seeking funding to make take these ideas to fruition as ongoing projects.