Run by Mission Australia, the eight-bed mixed-gender facility in Dubbo is for young people between 13 and 18-years-old.

The majority of clients are referred from Juvenile Justice – Mission Australia’s partners in the governance and service delivery of the facility.

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They stay at the Mac River Centre for three months and than get another three months of outside support.

Mission Australia area manager Luke Butcher said the program had a high success rate of young people completing the 12 week rehabilitation program, but they did often return.

“Contemporary thinking is it takes a few goes through any kind of behaviour change, like with people giving up sugar or giving up smoking, it's the same kind of process,” Mr Butcher said.

“We do have a lot of young people who do represent, which is positive because it shows that young people see the service as a safe place to be, it shows young people get benefits from the service as well.”

The Mac River Centre is holistic. As well as getting an school education, the young people also learn about how to deal with their mental and physical health, family connections and risk factors to offending. 

Mr Butcher said he hoped each time a young person went through the program they left with extra life skills under their belt.

“I use the analogy that it's like digging for gold in a gold mine. Every time young people come into the service we're putting some supports in the mine so the mine shaft doesn't collapse,” he said.

In a typical day, the young people wake up at 7am and go to bed at 9.30pm. The day includes plenty of exercise, chores like tending to the vegetable patch, phone calls to loved ones and school.

As well as normal school activities there’s also a social worker who will do some individual counselling, a case worker, and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Liaison Officer who runs drug and alcohol programs.

The Mac River Centre is a state-wide service, but Mr Butcher said the majority of people who stayed came from the western region.

“We know that young people in regional, rural and remote areas are disproportionately affected by substance use, alcohol and drugs. Mac River has allowed us to provide support for young people closer to home,” he said.

Mr Butcher said he attributed the Mac River Centre’s high rate of success to its strong partnerships with Juvenile Justice – which he said had been involved since the beginning – and the Department of Education.