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Speaker 1: It's been reported that a Darwin rehabilitation service helping former

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Speaker 1: prisoners work through drug and alcohol addictions has been forced

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Speaker 1: to close to make way for a new women's prison.

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Speaker 1: It's understood that Mission Australia's contract for residential rehabilitation services

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Speaker 1: within or with NT Health was due to expire in

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Speaker 1: June this year, the facility to eventually become under the

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Speaker 1: jurisdiction of NT Corrections. Now the rehab service sits within

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Speaker 1: the Stringybarks Center in Berrima. As I understand it, alongside

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Speaker 1: is so bring Up Shelter and Detox Unit, the ABC

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Speaker 1: reporting that it's the only coordinated addiction support service of

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Speaker 1: its kind in the Northern Territory. Now joining us on

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Speaker 1: the line to shed some more light on the situation

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Speaker 1: is Mission Australia's NT regional leader Paul Royce.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Paul, Good morning Katie, and lovely to be

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Speaker 2: speaking to you from Larycheth Country.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to be speaking with you this morning as well.

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Speaker 1: Much appreciated. Now did this come as as a rise

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Speaker 1: with the contract not due to expire until next year.

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Speaker 2: We had always been in conversations with the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: government about and particularly Anti Health about looking at a

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Speaker 2: different model of service delivery for people wishing to, I

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Speaker 2: suppose address some of the issues relating to their alcohol

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Speaker 2: and other drug use. But I suppose when we found

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Speaker 2: out in April of this year that our contract was

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Speaker 2: going to come to an end within a six month period,

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Speaker 2: and then with Empty Corrections opening up some more facilities,

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Speaker 2: prison facilities, and the facility that we currently work from

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Speaker 2: is owned by NPT Collections. So with Anti Corrections wanting

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Speaker 2: to utilize that facility much sooner than what we thought

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Speaker 2: than that brought forward our end date for our for

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Speaker 2: our eventual rehab service.

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Speaker 1: Now talk us through what sort of you know, what

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Speaker 1: is provided at that residential rehab service and are there

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Speaker 1: others lighters in Darwen.

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Speaker 2: It's a really unique service and it really goes to

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Speaker 2: show how well the non government sector and the government

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Speaker 2: sector worked really well together. So Anti Health have a

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Speaker 2: detox unit on the facility, We run the sobering up

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Speaker 2: shelter as well, and we have our residential rehab service.

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Speaker 2: We work very closely with Anti Police and Larity Nation,

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Speaker 2: so primarily people can come into our facility as a

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Speaker 2: certain ling up shelter participant. We can then do all

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Speaker 2: across to the detop service and people can go in

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Speaker 2: and detox and then from that point, if they choose to,

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Speaker 2: they can come across to our rehabilitation service. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's pretty unique. But as I said, it's owned by

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Speaker 2: the Anti Corrections and so we're a little bit I

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Speaker 2: suppose if Anti Corrections are wanting to use that facility again,

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Speaker 2: then it's up to them to access that again for

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Speaker 2: a new service.

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Speaker 3: Like talk us through.

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Speaker 1: So which element of the facility is closing because Anti

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Speaker 1: Corrections require it? Then, you know, for jail, I guess,

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Speaker 1: for want of a better word, or for the correctional facility,

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Speaker 1: which is it the like is it.

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Speaker 3: Everything or which part of the rehab facility.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so the whole services is being recommissioned and going

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Speaker 2: to be used again as a women's prison as far

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Speaker 2: as I'm aware. So the detop service is a relocating

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Speaker 2: fairly soon. Our residential rehab service will close on the

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Speaker 2: nineteenth of July, and at the moment, Anti Health and

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Speaker 2: the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics are looking for

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Speaker 2: a new site to relocate the Serving Up Shelter, So

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Speaker 2: our Serving Up Shelter will continue that's a forty bed facility,

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Speaker 2: and we're just looking at working with Anty Health at

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Speaker 2: a different locations so as you can. It's not easy

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Speaker 2: just to pick up, bring up shelter and plunk it

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Speaker 2: in a new location. So yeah, we've just got to

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Speaker 2: make sure that that location is adequate and meets our

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Speaker 2: needs as well and needs of people utilizing that service too.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, I mean we've sort of seen, even you know,

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Speaker 1: even with the likes of Saint Vinnie's moving locations, the

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Speaker 1: uproar that you can sometimes have from the community depending

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Speaker 1: on where these things potentially move.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's particularly the sobering up shelter and the

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Speaker 2: residential rehab service just vital services. I mean, it's the

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Speaker 2: sobering up shelter particularly is we provide a safe place

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Speaker 2: for people to sleep when they are intoxicated and they

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Speaker 2: know that they can get a good night's sleep, they

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Speaker 2: can get their clothes washed, they have a share in

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Speaker 2: the morning, they have a feed in the morning, and

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Speaker 2: then they can return safely to a place of their children.

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Speaker 1: Paul. This is like it's actually massive. This is you know,

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Speaker 1: like that sobering up shelter and and the facility the

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Speaker 1: other facility that you're running provide an enormous service to

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory community. I mean just how popular is

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Speaker 1: not the right word, but just how sort of needed

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Speaker 1: are these facilities?

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Speaker 2: Oh, they're incredibly needed and really important that we do

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Speaker 2: have spaces that people can go to where they can

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Speaker 2: receive that support when they're wanting to address issues of

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Speaker 2: relating to the alcohol and other drug use. For us

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Speaker 2: at the Stringy Bark facility, a lot of our referrals

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Speaker 2: come in from empty corrections, so people wishing to address

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Speaker 2: their AOD use as part of a prison sentence. So

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Speaker 2: probably about eighty percent of our referrals come through from correction.

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Speaker 2: And we have forty beds at our facility and forty

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Speaker 2: beds as well as serving up shelter, so yeah, there's

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Speaker 2: quite a few beds there.

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Speaker 1: So Paul, what date is the sobering upshelter going to

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Speaker 1: need to close?

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Speaker 2: So the Ant government have given the commitment that our

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Speaker 2: services will continue at the Showing up shelter, so they

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Speaker 2: won't stop, so they will relocate when there's a facility

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Speaker 2: available for us to relocate into. So our services of

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Speaker 2: the Sobering up Shelter will be continuous, which is fantastic, But.

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Speaker 1: With the other rehab what's going to happen there? I mean,

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Speaker 1: when is that going to end? And really what is

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Speaker 1: that going to mean for territories that need rehab.

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Speaker 2: So there will still be another four residential rehab services

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Speaker 2: available run by a number of amazing organizations, so they

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Speaker 2: would still be available. It will be primarily that that

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Speaker 2: ours will close, and I believe there's some additional beds

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Speaker 2: that are going to be made available from the other services.

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Speaker 2: But also I know that NT government and particularly anti

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Speaker 2: health is working with the stakeholders local organizations to develop

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Speaker 2: a new model that'll not only just work with people

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Speaker 2: who are experiencing issues with their alcohol and other drug use,

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Speaker 2: but also their mental health.

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Speaker 1: Well, how soon do you think you'll know where the

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Speaker 1: Sobering upshelter is going to move to.

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Speaker 2: We've got an early indication that it will be in

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Speaker 2: the same in the same vicinity, but we're just waiting

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Speaker 2: for plans to be finalized that that'll be a decision.

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Speaker 2: Certainly we're involved in that process, but that decision will

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Speaker 2: primarily sit with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics

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Speaker 2: and in conjunction with Empty Health.

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Speaker 1: Look, I guess we all understand that we need more

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Speaker 1: space for corrections.

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Speaker 3: And you know, I totally understand what you're saying that

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Speaker 3: it is there.

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Speaker 1: It's their infrastructure and so there's not much you can

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Speaker 1: do about it in terms of them needing that back.

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Speaker 3: But it does. But this does sound like a big loss.

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Speaker 2: It is, particularly when we recognize that I suppose First

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Speaker 2: Nations people are the most incarcerated people in the country

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Speaker 2: and in the Northern Territory, and the vast majority of

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Speaker 2: people who we would see through our saving up shelter

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Speaker 2: and our rehab service would also be First Nations people.

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Speaker 2: So we're just worried mainly for people who would be

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Speaker 2: seeking that support. And our service is not for everybody

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Speaker 2: because it's a little bit different, it's in the repurposed prism.

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Speaker 2: But we just we just want what it's best for

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Speaker 2: for the people who are looking for that support, as

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Speaker 2: well as our team. So with our team will be

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Speaker 2: losing their jobs. We're hoping to redeploy majority of the team.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, there's just not enough jobs for everybody within

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Speaker 2: our other mission Australia Services.

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Speaker 3: Oh gee, that's difficult as well.

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Speaker 1: So do you I mean, do you have any idea

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Speaker 1: how many staff that will be or is that sort

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Speaker 1: of up in the air at this point.

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Speaker 2: We're still going through that process with our human resource team,

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Speaker 2: but yeah, they're all amazing staff and they all do

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Speaker 2: fantastic work, and the participants in our programs just absolutely

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Speaker 2: love the work that they do as well, so we

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Speaker 2: want to make sure there's a space for them at

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Speaker 2: Mission Australia once the program closes, so well.

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Speaker 1: Just do just you know, in sort of wrapping up,

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Speaker 1: when is that when's the rehab service aspect going to cease?

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Speaker 2: So we have people finishing up graduating from the program

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Speaker 2: in the coming weeks, and we actually haven't taken any

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Speaker 2: more referrals for the last well since we've got the notification.

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Speaker 2: Primarily we've ceased referrals coming in. So our graduation of

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Speaker 2: our final lot of participants is on the twenty eighth

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Speaker 2: of June, and then it's given us two weeks to

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Speaker 2: transition out of the facility altogether.

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Speaker 1: And then hopefully you'll have a clearer understanding as well.

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Speaker 1: Then when it comes to the sobering upshelter in coming weeks,

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Speaker 1: do you think in terms of a more permanent location, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and that'll be good and then we

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Speaker 2: can start working with Empty Health and work together just

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Speaker 2: around some of the key aspects of what needs to

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Speaker 2: be included in a new facility.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, Mission Australia's INTI regional leader, Paul Royce, I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. It does sound like it's

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Speaker 1: a tough time for you guys, particularly you know, as

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Speaker 1: you've touched on the managing staff and trying to manage

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Speaker 1: it all.

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Speaker 3: I really appreciate your speaking with us today. Not a problem, Katie,

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Thanks so much.