Meet the team: Damo

Damien started at The Sydney Retreat as a volunteer when we first opened in February 2021. He and his wife Cherrie put in many hours helping us get off the ground, providing us with a vital support to get our program up and running. 

“I loved my time as a volunteer. I was injured, unable to return to work and was in and out of hospital – so it came at a really good time for me,” he explains. “In July 2021 I was ready to slowly get back into paid work and The Sydney Retreat needed someone to fill in a shift here or there, so I started as a casual thinking it would last for a few months and I’ve been here ever since.” 

The difference between staff and volunteers at The Sydney Retreat 

The role of the Retreat Assistant is to ensure guests are supported in the early days of their sobriety so they can get on with the process of recovering from addiction. What is unique about The Sydney Retreat is that our 28 day program is strongly supported by volunteers from the recovery community who have all found a solution to their own drinking and drugging problem – sober people talking to people who want to get sober.

“What we do at The Sydney Retreat would be so difficult to replicate. You could take the model itself somewhere else but could you get 150 volunteers engaged to deliver it?” says Damien.

Damien says the transition from being of service for fun and for free into the role of a staff member was difficult at first. “I love that we draw a very clear line between 12 Step work and the work we do as Retreat Assistants,” he explains. “We’re here to make sure everything runs smoothly – we’re providing a safe and supportive environment where volunteers can come in and help our guests work it out.” 

“The best part of working here is knowing that we’re offering our guests a genuine solution that works. I believe one hundred percent in what we are doing,” he says.

Damien says it’s not uncommon for people to want to leave within those first few days of arriving at The Sydney Retreat. “There is a lot to deal with and a lot going on – you’re surrounded by fifteen to twenty strangers, sometimes you’re sharing a room with someone you don’t know, you’re starting to attend groups and get out to meetings – it can be overwhelming,” he explains. “Often it is other people in the community who have been here a week or two longer who step up and support those new people, they share their experience and help them navigate through those feelings – it’s pretty unique.” 

Damien says he often sees a profound change in guests’ attitudes and outlooks within the first week. Working evenings, he also gets to take people to their very first 12 Step recovery meeting which fills him with a mix of anticipation and gratitude. 

“One of the benefits of doing this work is the gratitude I feel that somehow I’ve been saved from being in that same position,” he says.