John Hopper and Travis Young reveal how they beat their drug and alcohol addictions with rehab

Tradie John Hopper and gym owner Travis Young are from different backgrounds but they have similar tales of fighting drug addiction. See how they did it.

Tradie John Hopper and gym owner Travis Young came from different backgrounds but their tales of drug addiction read similarly.

Mr Hopper’s relationship had broken up, he was $50,000 in debt and had been evicted from his home when he decided he had to do something about his $1000 a week addiction to alcohol and methamphetamine.

Mr Young had written his young son a suicide note after consuming 14 bags of cocaine over four days. He was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, his business had dissolved and his relationship was over.

Mr Hopper’s saving grace was a radical 12-month rehab program at Shalom House, which saw him kick his habit and pay off his debts. He’s now married, studying to be an engineer and has reconnected with his family.

John Hopper hit rock bottom after 20 years of drug use and checked himself into a program at Shalom House. Picture: Rob Leeson

“My life now is better than I ever possibly could have imagined it to be,” Mr Hopper, who is now seven years sober, said.

“My life hasn’t just been fixed by this program its actually been completely transformed.

“You’re detoxing from the drugs and alcohol as well as the lifestyle. There’s no negative, influences. You’re kind of put in a bubble, which helped me to get over the emotional stuff and the mental stuff that I was carrying, the shame and the guilt and feeling like a failure.”

A drug rehabilitation camp in Thailand. Picture: Supplied

Like Mr Hopper, Mr Young checked into a 28-day rehabilitation program – his was in Thailand – where his counsellor told the group “if you only stay here for 20 days only 2 per cent of you will stay sober for six months”.

“I just paused and I looked him dead in the eyes and said I’m gonna be the 2 per cent,” Mr Young said.

He is now married with three children, has bought his dream house and runs a successful business.

Travis Young with his family, (from left) Jett Danger, Ace Rocket, wife Chloe and daughter Miami J. Picture: Supplied

Mr Young and Mr Hopper, who now helps run the Betel Shalom treatment centre outside Melbourne, are two of the lucky people able to access a treatment program.

Rethink Addiction estimates 500,000 Australians are unable to access a treatment centre to deal with their addiction because of a lack of services, inability to find them and stigma associated with drug use.

An alliance of drug treatment services has called for an injection of $1.26 billion in funding to expand drug treatment services around Australia.

While there were national guidelines about what a suitable treatment program should include there were no state regulations or enforcement bodies to ensure people received quality help — and many people who paid for treatment often relapsed.

Addicts have to detox from the drugs – such as crystal meth – and alcohol as well as the lifestyle.

In 2020, a major inquiry by Victoria’s Health Care Complaints Commission found there were “unscrupulous providers or practices preying on individuals and their families at a time when

those individuals are at their most vulnerable” and called for mandatory licensing of providers.

“We have hundreds of people on our waiting list at any given time. People want to do something about their substance use but they’re just sitting on a waiting list,” Andrea McLeod, the CEO of Victorian treatment service Windana, said.

Odyssey House program director David Kelly said there was “a huge amount of people seeking treatment and support who can’t obtain it on any given day, some people may have to wait a month or two to get in”.

Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association executive officer Sam Biondo. Picture: Supplied

“If someone’s got cancer, you wouldn’t tell them to go away and come back in six months. That’s what we’re asking people to do often in the alcohol and other drugs space,” Victoria Alcohol and Other Drugs (VAADA) chief executive Sam Biondo said.

State-funded services, such as Windana, had to meet strict accreditation and quality and compliance standards but there was no such regulation of the private rehab industry.

“We recently had a client who had been to private rehab service and it had cost her close to about $20,000. Her experience wasn’t positive in that she failed to address some of the underlying issues and as a result she had a relapse and is now back in rehab but is undergoing a government funded program,” Ms McLeod said.

Around 130,000 people received drug and alcohol treatment in 2017-18 with alcohol (35 per cent) the most common reason for treatment followed by amphetamines (27 per cent), cannabis (22 per cent) and heroin (6 per cent).