Last month we were so excited to see five people graduate all four stages of the Transformations program at our Bayside Transformations Campus. Many people graduate stage one and two of our signature program, but it takes a brave, committed person to see the program through to the very end.

While stage one and two focus on self-awareness and learning the necessary tools to process the underlying issues behind a person’s addiction, stage three and four provide an opportunity to put these new learnings into practice. In these leadership stages, residents take on more significant levels of responsibility and the opportunity to lead and mentor younger staged residents.

This transition is like going from adolescence to adulthood, and we all know that healthy adulting can be very challenging! When you are a kid, you have the luxury of thinking about yourself. When you become an adult, you are often responsible for other people, have to do things that you don’t feel like doing, follow through with your commitments and develop enough resilience to make you employable or able to parent.

We often say that many ‘successful people’ in society would struggle to endure the leadership stages of the Transformations program as it is such a humbling refining process! John. C. Maxwell says, “You build trust with others each time you choose integrity over image, truth over convenience, or honour over personal gain.” This is why graduations are so celebrated at Transformations!

Recent graduate, Kenny, had been an angry alcoholic for 39 years before coming into the Transformations Program at age 49.

“By the time I got to Transformations, I could hardly walk and had the shakes for a long time in withdrawal. It took me months to settle, calm down and find some peace. I was surrounded by my own anger, which continued to show up with the people I lived with. I slowly started to forgive myself and the people who hurt me, which helped me find peace. I was challenged on many occasions on how I was dealing with my anger. I was given a lot of tools to help me communicate healthily. Now I am a completely different man from the one that walked into Transformations. I have peace and rest. I sleep well, I’ve learnt to love others. My anger and foul language have disappeared. My reading and writing have improved. I’m studying a certificate three in community service, and I no longer have an urge to drink. The Transformations Program has facilitated a true transformation in my life.”

Congratulations Kenny, Claudia, Teegan, Mel and Ben, on your commitment to recovery!