Brittas Bay Management: Gary O'Haire Started: 1995 (Newbridge), 2010 (Brittas Bay, current) Capacity: 14 beds Purpose: Helping Women with life controlling addiction issues Project working individual residents with key focus on addiction Mental and physical wellbeing Workshops Family supports What started in a small bungalow in Newbridge Co. Kildare called "Shechem House" has been a safe haven for women and the predecessor to our current facility for women's rehabilitation. Ocean View in Brittas Bay is the home of our Women's Center. It is a centre for women (18 years and over) who struggle with drug and alcohol problems and for people in need of life skills training. The programme is a faith based programme with a model of complete abstinence. The women enjoy a range of taught modules in horticulture, cookery lessons, money management skills and crafts as well as daily/weekly counselling sessions. The programme is 16 months in total with the initial 10 months in Ocean View. There are 4 phases to the programme, each phase bringing more responsibilities and more privileges. Phase 3 tries to help the women gain work placements and/or courses for when they progress to phase 4 and the re-entry house. This gives the women time to re-adjust into the community while still having the support of the staff. Presently the centre can accommodate 12 women; however the vision for the future is to move to larger premises where women who have children can come into treatment with their children and not be separated from them during their programme. At Ocean View we see it as a privilege to walk alongside these amazing women in their journey to freedom as they gain wholeness physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.