WRAD Youth Services is part of the Western Region Alcohol and Drug Centre which has been providing services across the region for 30 years.
The WRAD Assertive Outreach Youth Project is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Health through the Substance Misuse Service Delivery grants fund.
WRAD Youth provides services in schools and outreach setting to young people aged 12-25.
WRAD began as a community steering group in 1983 determined to provide better services for people with alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems in south-west Victoria. Since the centre opened in 1986, WRAD has broadened its base to provide diverse services to meet the multiple needs of people with AOD problems.
The WRAD Centre is a not-for-profit organisation that operates within a community-based management model. An elected Committee of Management is responsible to provide services in accordance with relevant legislation, service guidelines and funding agreements.
The philosophy of harm minimisation underpins the delivery of all programs offered by WRAD. People and their problems are viewed holistically, and WRAD staff work collaboratively with other health-related professionals and organisations to best meet the needs of clients and their families.
Since 2014 WRAD Centre has been renamed to honour a major benefactor and to reflect its growing range of medical services. WRAD is now incorporated in the Handbury Medical Suites, named in honour of Dr Geoff Handbury, AO, WRAD’s most charitable benefactor and one of Western Victoria’s most generous philanthropists.
The Centre is at 172 Merri Street Warrnambool.