On a sun-drenched morning in the Coffs Coast hinterland a team of farm workers surrender to their task. They look like any other agriculture worker, dressed in safety colours; dirt under their fingernails, but their real work is much more mental than physical.
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The actual job of harvesting blueberries and blackberries on the sprawling Adele House farm at Bucca is left to professional pickers, while the men who temporarily reside at the brand new 40 bed on-site facility gradually get accustomed to an every day life, where the chores includes cooking and cleaning, weeding the gardens and eventually more involved roles at the farm. It makes a change from their recent daily routines that involved a heavy dependence on drugs and alcohol.
Adele House is a temporary home to men that have fallen through society's cracks, with many who ended up in front of the magistrate on drug-related charges of crime given another chance to turn their lives around without spending time in jail.
The service, supported by the Payce Foundation and run by the Salvation Army, the Bucca facility is intimately connected with the working farm that produces food on part of its 405 hectares of land.
Rob McCabe leads a small team of men through the job of preparing bushes for rock phosphate and mulch. It's only a little job and not for long because these volunteers are new to the program and are still taking little steps towards rehabilitation. Besides, they all have other tasks to do. Some who get interested find themselves in the workshop, manufacturing implements for the farm. "Success for us is when they leave here and don't come back," he said.
Out here under the hail netting, the humidity is rising after recent rain and one new recruit is feeling the stress of it, beads of sweat on his brow. Another stands up straight and from his stance you can see he's feeling vital. "It's the best program because they treat us like adults and we respond like adults," he says. "There's a lot of self-responsibility."
A third grins and says he enjoys outdoor work. "It keeps the mind from doing head miles."
Farm manager David Blomfield has 30 years experience in growing irrigated crops, having cut his teeth in the Riverina. Now he is in charge of producing organic produce, growing blueberries under fertigation and blackberries in pots, sustained with micro-irrigation.
"The farm and the house wouldn't exist without each other," he said. "It's a symbiotic relationship."
A move towards organic and sustainable production complements Adele Farm's core values and in a year like this one delivers twice the value at market. There is also a nursery that rears lemon myrtle cuttings in a specialised program that is booked out. Meanwhile, a new venture in intensively-grown blackberries required capital that was sourced through the Payce Foundation. In return, this crop is likely to pay back its debts in just a few seasons, with excellent profits ploughed back into the purpose of the farm - raising young men to maturity.
This new facility opened July last year, right in the middle of the pandemic. Then treasurer Dominic Perrottet opened to the public the 40-bed facility, modern kitchen and conference facilities along with a pool and gym. The cost per bed is about one third that of a person in jail. He then gave an emotional speech, saying Adele House was a most satisfying project to support. Those who were there say he spent more time talking to the men in rehabilitation than spruiking to the media.
The foundation is now seeking funding to build a modern women's facility at Moonee Beach, to upgrade the old house, and in these recently approved plans mothers will be able to keep their children with them during rehabilitation.
Adele House program manager Jackson Walsh has accumulated a career's worth of experience in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and is familiar with the best Melbourne facilities that cater for politicians' wives and football players, but this farm is altogether different and far more conducive to chilling out and coming to terms with one's own life.
"We call this the Betty Ford clinic for battlers," he said, referring to the majority of admissions coming from the recommendation of drug magistrates in Newcastle and Parramatta.
"The data shows that rehab is better than jail when it comes to outcomes."
"Some of the guys here have never had a job so we get them cooking and cleaning. The men do the upkeep There is a work commitment but this is a volunteer program. They get used to going to work when they don't feel like it."
Mr Walsh said farm skills were taught in stages, from buddying up and doing short stints to using equipment and in the third stage being paid for their efforts.
Not all the men are successful. Many have returned for another go, and to help those struggling on their first effort, alumni return for a Tuesday night barbeque to help offer some guidance while a quarter of the staff have themselves been through rehabilitation.
"There is less re-offending among those who return for a second time," he said. "They are more open to treatment."
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