Amity is an incorporated non-government organisation that helps to support the well-being of people within the community. Specifically, this charity helps people who are either experiencing or likely to experience the negative consequences of their own or someone else’s lifestyle choices.

At IA, we believe that one of our most important roles is to support our community, which is why we endorse a wide variety of charities. Established in the 1970s, Amity has been an IA client since 1998. At the same time, one of IA’s Northern Territory principals, Brett Hagan, has twice been the Chair of Amity over the past twenty years, and is still an active board member today.

So it is with great pleasure that Brett Hagan, on behalf of IA, recently presented Amity with a cheque for $5,000. This donation will help Amity to support a range of programs focused on supporting people within our community to live a more balanced and healthy life.

Amity’s approach to community health

With the health of the community as their primary focus, Amity has adopted the definition of ‘health’, as suggested by the World Health Organisation: that health is more than just the absence of disease, it’s a combination of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Taking this definition even further, Amity suggests that health is a resource for life, being a product of both lifestyle and living conditions.

Amity recognises that a community is composed of many different lifestyles, all imposing costs and benefits on the community as a whole, and to the individuals who live within that community. However, they also acknowledges that when particular lifestyles result in negative consequences to the community and to individuals, trying to change the behaviours that led to these negative outcomes can often be futile. As an alternative strategy, Amity believes that a holistic approach can create more good and achieve better outcomes than a divisive labelling approach that is so often used to curb these negative behaviours. This is why they don’t focus exclusively on a specific type of behaviour, but rather on enhancing an individual’s lifestyle and engagement within the community.

Having said this, Amity do offer holistic services founded on specific behaviours, for example volatile substance abuse (VSA) and alcohol and drugs abuse (AOD) in the Northern Territory. They also run a program that provides outreach, intervention and counselling for people and their families suffering from illicit drug use, as well as a program aimed at helping people suffering from the negative effects of gambling.

Counselling is the backbone of their services, providing a professional, confidential and non-judgemental service to sufferers and their families. These counsellors specialise in gambling, drugs and alcohol abuse, as well as mental health issues. Amity also provides a range of free promotional resources that are available online and can assist community organisations to promote Amity’s free services. This promotional material consists of self-help guides and information that assists individuals to access Amity’s free services.

Once again, the IA Foundation is proud to endorse another worthwhile charity and is honoured to have donated $5,000 in support of their valuable community services. You can learn more about Amity and their community services by visiting their website: https://www.amity.org.au/