Max:

When Max first arrived at Triple Care Farm, he was the lowest he’d ever been.

He’d been using drugs for years after struggling with a chaotic home life, a lack of interest in school and, later, a hostile work situation. But it was when he was involved in a serious car crash while driving under the influence that he realised something needed to change.

“I lost my job, my car and my relationship. I was at rock bottom,” says Max, who had been completing an apprenticeship as an air-conditioning technician.

“After that, I went to Triple Care Farm.”

Now, lying in bed on his first night of the Farm’s residential rehab program, he couldn’t sleep. It was his first sober night for as long as he could remember.

But the next morning, things changed for the better. They haven’t stopped changing since.

Rebuilding a life, one skill at a time

For 12 weeks, Max committed to Triple Care Farm’s evidence-based treatment approach, which connects young people to physical and mental health support, education and employment pathways, and basic life skills.

This process recognises that addiction often co-exists with mental ill health; trauma; housing instability; and disconnection from education, employment and family.

For Max, having access to regular counselling helped him understand the triggers that underpinned his drug use. Equally valuable was learning how to build simple routines that gave him a sense of control over his life.

“Before I went there, I would never wash my clothes; I’d never cooked a meal. I’d never done anything for myself and I had no routine,” he says.

“By the time I got out of there, I could live independently.”

But it was the reconnection to employment that Max says had the significant impact: the Triple Care Farm team helped him line up a new job in a new city to kickstart his life after rehab.

With support from his aftercare worker, Todd , he moved his apprenticeship and TAFE course from Wollongong to Sydney. He also attended court over the car crash, a process Todd helped him navigate.

“Basically, he knew how the system worked, which was really helpful. It helped my case in the end: I got off with a good behaviour bond,” Max says.

“The difference it makes is massive”

In the years since, Max has gone from strength to strength. He’s still in Sydney after a stint living and working in London; now, along with his partner, he’s saving for his first home.

He’s thriving at work, and when he’s not on the tools, he’s passionate about fishing, which has helped him build a community of people around him. Best of all, he has also reconciled with his family.

Even all these years later, Max looks back on his time at Triple Care Farm with a mixture of nostalgia and gratitude. The treatment experience not only showed him what his life could be; it reminded him he had the strength to pursue it.