BAYSIDE Transformations has offered a 32-bed, alcohol and other drug and mental health recovery program in Hervey Bay for the past 12 years.
Contributed by Hervey Bay RSL
For 11 of those years, the Hervey Bay RSL has been assisting the not-for-profit organisation in many ways including grants for new furniture, uniforms for their vegetable production team and most recently, a grant of $10,000 for a new refrigerated Toyota Ute with signwriting.
Men and women come from all over Australia to get recovery and the program provides evidence based, peer to peer supported community service that helps people recover from mental health and drug and alcohol addiction related issues.
It’s the only service of its kind between the Fraser Coast and Townsville.
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The founding team, including Darren Yates and Tina Davie, started the not-for-profit centre with nothing in the bank and only recently received a small amount of Government Funding.
The men and women pay 80% of their Centrelink income to take part in the program and the rest of the organisation’s outgoings are paid by fundraising, donations, grants, and profits from business ventures like the very successful Bayside Vegies.
The vegetable kitchen operates on site under strict health and safety guidelines and is run by a team of seven paid staff and a component of unpaid labour with residents doing part of their work therapy in the kitchen.
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Production Manager and fully qualified chef Claus Huber is the team’s leader and is proud to play a part in many of the men and women’s rehabilitation.
“During their work therapy they do about 13 hours a week spread over four days and learn things like basic hygiene, following directions, work ethics and not leaving tasks half-finished, working in a team and sorting out differences in a proper way,” Claus said.
“We have a whole holistic approach to changing their lives. We teach them about nutrition and to cook for themselves, keep fit and get in touch with their spirituality.
“Some of them after graduating have found employment with us on the team.”
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When the vegetable business first started 11 years ago, Claus approached the RSL to be a client and the rest is history.
He and the team now work closely with RSL head chef Mick Mielczarek to deliver fresh sliced, diced and chopped vegetables to the club five days a week.
In total, the team now service 30 customers across Hervey Bay, Maryborough, and Bundy, which is why the new refrigerated Ute was needed so desperately.
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“The old Triton was 11 years old and was very tired,” Claus said.
“The new Ute is just fantastic and we can’t thank the RSL enough!
“It has much better safety features and it looks much more professional now as well.
“When you turn up somewhere you don’t have signwriting hanging off and peeling; it now looks like a professional business delivering the products.”
Deliveries
The Ute gets a good work out delivering tonnes of vegetables to local clubs, hotels, restaurants, cafes, catering companies and aged care homes.
“We also subcontract to Beemart the vegetable wholesaler and through them we deliver to the Maryborough and Hervey Bay hospitals and the Friendlies Hospital in Bundy,” Claud said.
“We send out anywhere between 3 ½ to 4 ½ tonnes of processed vegetables on a weekly basis. It’s quite a lot.
“Last financial year we did 75 tonnes of potatoes that were peeled, portioned, diced, or sliced and delivered out.”
To find out more, visit www.baysidevegies.com.au or phone 4148 7644.
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