OUR HISTORY

B-Attitudes Inc. commenced on 14th January 2002, evolving from Churchill Community Care, which commenced on 13th January 2001, on the initiative of a then Community Care worker and two Clinical Nurses.  All three Founding Members are now qualified psychotherapists, one is a Certified Transactional Analyst in Psychotherapy, and another has a Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health.  The service is a member of WA Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (WANADA).  Two of the founding members have a
background in Registered Nursing and Midwifery.

All three founding members have 25 years experience in drug dependency intervention in the community, including over 4 years experience in caring for individuals undergoing rapid opiate detoxification, and 6 years in prison recovery program service within Official Visits.

In their experience they each saw over 4000 receive rapid opiate detoxifications and cared for them on the day, immediately post detox and in their recovery afterwards in the community.  On commencement, the three saw the need for a non-residential community-based facility in the metropolitan area of Perth to better attend the recovery needs of clients in
their own environment. This combines to address parenting and relationship skills. To contracted clients B-Attitudes provides flexible availability of therapeutic relationship in the community.  The service networks with other community services and groups, offering client recovery engagement within the community.

Churchill Community Care became incorporated at the end of 2001 and renamed B-Attitudes Inc. (Reference to Matthew 5). B-Attitudes gained an ABN registration on 27th March 2002, and endorsement as an income tax exempt charitable entity on 21st March 2002.  Endorsement as a deductible gift recipient as a public benevolent institution was issued in July 2002, effective from 7th March 2002.  Charitable Collections Licence was gained in 2007.

B-Attitudes started with a community base in Subiaco with “peppercorn rent” on 28th March 2002 to continue the much-needed service, offering help to people with alcohol and/or opiate, amphetamine, marijuana, benzodiazepine and other drug addictions, and also to provide counselling for family and significant others. This provided a base where a holistic approach, incorporating networking, was developed to facilitate recovery, hope and the building of positive living and relationship skills The base was funded by donations from community groups, and individuals for 2 ½ years – rental provided for the first year by The Humanity Trust, with provision for the second and third year by the Belgravia Group.  Soroptimist International, Perth and South Perth divisions have supported the service throughout in many
ways.

Rent doubled in 2005 and to be cost effective, it was decided to give up the fixed base in January 2006, and Soroptimist International of Perth made available the use of their room in West Perth for meetings. Lotterywest supported a feasibility, strategic and business plan in 2007 and subsequently supported the purchase of a mobile office/people mover vehicle which doubles as conference/counselling setting taking the team to the people.  The mobile office vehicle was obtained in 2008 and is just about still running and we are in need of a replacement vehicle!  At this time B-Attitudes predominantly offered a recovery service within the community, but with the change to methamphetamine use and hundreds of letters received from mainly males in prison from 2015, the service changed its focus from recovery
within the community to a mainly prison recovery program which commenced in 2017, and community follow up following release.

The founding members worked unpaid for 2 ½ years from 2002 until B-Attitudes was awarded a 2-year Federal Department of Health and Ageing funding grant of $240,000 over 2 years from 2004 under the National Illicit Drug Strategy. This was renewed for $240,000 for a further 2 years from 2006-2008, however despite good performance reports and having acquired a new mobile counselling vehicle and plans for expansion, B-Attitudes were informed 2 weeks before the end of the 2008 financial year that funding would not be
renewed into the future.  B-Attitudes has continued with Committee of Management, founding members and new recovery facilitators working on a voluntary basis, with donations covering basic running costs such as insurances, public liability, mobile counselling vehicle costs, audit and book-keeping.  A small Federal grant of $5,000 was gained 2010-2011 from Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs – FHCSIA Volunteer Grants, and in the last 3 years to 2022, we have received a Federal Dept. of Communities Volunteer Grant of $5000 each year to cover fuel and some office equipment.