Uniting consumer Francesca reflects on her experience with addiction and her journey through the Catalyst program.
Unlike her friends, Francesca was a shy, academically focused teenager who didn’t drink.
However, after living in a London share house in her early 20s, she found that alcohol gave her confidence and she became “the life of the party”.
The drinking continued throughout her 20s and 30s as she entered the workforce and was surrounded by the corporate drinking culture.
What started as a means to socialise and decompress after a long day in the office, became a nightly habit that she couldn’t control.
“Before I knew it, it really became a daily thing and I started realising the negative impacts it was having on my life,” Francesca says.
Francesca spoke to her doctor about addressing her addiction and was referred to a multi-night rehabilitation program which she said did little to support her to sustainably self-manage her drinking. She then sought further medical advice and was referred to Uniting’s non-residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, Catalyst.
Francesca found the non-residential, 9am – 5pm format of Catalyst to be more impactful than other programs she’d been through. She says these programs did little except remove her from her own environment for several weeks at a time, before she fell back into the same dangerous habits upon the conclusion of that program.
“[At Catalyst], you go in Monday to Friday … having that support on a daily basis, but then actually coming home in the evening, experiencing all the things that might trigger you to use your substance,” Francesca says.
She adds the program supported her to address the role alcohol was playing in her life and take steps towards a healthier, more holistic lifestyle.
“How can I achieve, whether it’s the sort of feeling comfortable in a social situation, whether it’s switching off a very busy mind, how can I do that in other ways that are healthier and more sustainable?” Francesca says of the uncomfortable feelings she had to address through the program.
Now living a super active, healthy lifestyle with her partner Brook and her labrador Tia, Francesca can’t believe how far she’s come after struggling for so many years.
Ahead of the Victorian State Election 2026, Uniting is calling on all political parties to commit to an expansion of our award-winning alcohol and other drug rehabilitation program, Catalyst across four locations in regional Victoria: Ballarat, Wimmera, Gippsland and Goulburn.
This investment will give regional Victorians access to intensive, evidence-based treatment closer to home, helping participants stay connected to family, education, employment and community while receiving support.
Uniting’s Election Platform can be found here.
