What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

The First Step Program

Home
Australia
St Kilda, VIC
The First Step Program

First Step is a not-for-profit addiction, mental health and legal services hub in Melbourne. All for free. All from one team. All at one site.

We provide free services to thousands of vulnerable Victorians every year. First Step provides a uniquely multi-disciplinary team of GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, mental health nurses, care coordinators, counsellors, and peer group educators. Many of our clients live stable lives, connected with family, work and education. But our multi-disciplinary team specialises in supporting people with complex needs, those at risk of hospitalisation for their mental health, imprisonment, homelessness, or worse. At First Step we believe that chronic addiction is generally a long-term, painful adaptation to childhood abuse and neglect, and that timely and effective treatment is a matter of social justice that benefits all of society. We work to keep people connected to their families, participating in society and taking control of their own lives. Learn more about our work at www.firststep.org.au. COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

The First Step Program page provides a space for people to find out more about First Step, as well as to encourage discussion about important issues like substance use disorders and mental illness. First Step monitors its social media pages between 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays only. First Step posts are occasionally automatically generated outside of these hours and on Victorian public holidays, if this occurs the posts will not be moderated until the following business day between 9am to 5pm. Please be respectful of all points of view and refrain from personal attacks on other users and people who may be featured in our posts. First Step will remove any posts which:

• are likely to be offensive to other readers;
• discuss methods or depicts images of su***de or self-harm;
• discuss drug usage in an unbalanced way, e.g. omit the negative effects;
• contain unhelpful advice, such as blaming a person for their alcohol or other drug use;
• are dogmatic, such as setting out courses of action as “the only way”;
• are racist, sexist, trans/bi/homophobic or in any other way discriminatory;
• are obscene, or uses graphic sexual language;
• are defamatory, or overly critical of services or organisations which provide help to others;
• are likely to cause harm/distress to other people reading the story;
• are posted for commercial purposes; or
• promote inaccurate, inappropriate or harmful health advice. Users who repeatedly violate the above conditions may be blocked from the First Step page. The First Step page does not provide counselling or crisis services. If you need immediate assistance, please call the National Home Doctor Service on 13 74 25. In an emergency situation, please call 000. If a post on any First Step social media page indicates a person may be at risk of harm, First Step will reply to the post as soon as possible and provide information on counselling and crisis support services. In some instances, First Step may report a post which indicates a person may be at risk of harm to authorities, including the police. First Step can take no responsibility for comments from followers on the First Step social media pages.

05/03/2026

Paul Edbrooke MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Su***de Prevention, spoke about the fragmentation people experience when navigating services.

Looking to 2050, he imagined:

“Integration is not a pilot, but the default setting.”

Real reform means designing systems that recognise whole lives, not isolated issues.

03/03/2026

We were grateful to have Clare Davies, CEO of SHARC, join us at the First Step Futures Forum last week.

Clare spoke powerfully about what the next 25 years require of us - not just reform, but healing embedded into our systems, and lived and living experience centred as a foundation rather than an afterthought.

These conversations matter. The future of our sectors will be shaped by how willing we are to share power, listen deeply and follow through.

Thank you, SHARC, for your ongoing leadership and partnership in this work.

02/03/2026

At the First Step Futures Forum, Professor Patrick McGorry, Executive Director Orygen, challenged the room to confront a stark global imbalance. While mental illness represents a significant proportion of disease burden, funding does not reflect that reality.

“2% of health budgets around the world are spent on mental illness.”

If we are serious about reform, investment must match the scale of the problem.

VAADA - The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association
Mental Health Victoria

27/02/2026

16/02/2026

Last Wednesday, 200 people gathered at the St Kilda Town Hall to hear four diverse leaders discuss their hopes and dreams for the future:
Sheree Lowe ( Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc), Pat McGorry ( Orygen ), Paul Edbrooke MP (Victorian Government News Paul Edbrooke MP), Clare Davies (Self Help Addiction Resource Centre - SHARC) with Rev Tim Costello as MC.

The question, in light of First Step having just turned 25, was "What do our sectors need to thrive for the next 25 years?"

Clare Davies was the final speaker, bringing the passionate voice of lived-experience:

“You bring your whole selves to this work—your wisdom, your humour, your grief, your courage.”

“You learn to navigate systems built to restrain, contain, and control people like you.”

Re the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System: “We were told recommendations would be implemented in full. Instead, we’ve seen them ‘value engineered’ out.”

Clare wants to see:
- Politicians willing to refuse donations from alcohol and gambling industries,
- Addiction met with love, kindness, and support—not criminalisation,
- Services designed with communities, not delivered to them.
- Technology strengthening human connection, not replacing it.
- Overdose treated as a preventable systems failure.

“The relationships built during this period have lit a fire in us to keep going.”

"Despite setbacks, the intention of the Royal Commission is alive for us. It has not dimmed. It was never a fad. We remain committed to building genuine hybrid models—clinical and lived experience working together with shared power."

Partners:
City Of Port Phillip
Mental Health Victoria
VAADA - The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association

13/02/2026

On Wednesday, 200 people gathered at the St Kilda Town Hall to hear four diverse leaders discuss their hopes and dreams for the future:

Sheree Lowe ( Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc)
Pat McGorry ( Orygen )
Paul Edbrooke MP (Victorian Government News Paul Edbrooke MP)
Clare Davies (Self Help Addiction Resource Centre - SHARC)

Rev Tim Costello was MC.

The question, in light of First Step having just turned 25, was "What do our sectors need to thrive for the next 25 years?"

Sheree got the ball rolling:

“Twenty-five years is a generation, and I guess from my perspective, I along with other First Peoples at Victoria have a very ambitious vision.”

“The hope for treaty is a shared future for all . . . Victoria holds the oldest living cultures on Earth. A truth that belongs to all Victorians and a legacy to uphold."

"The pride in Victoria is today shared by many cultures, each adding to the richness of its story. One of Victoria's greatest strengths is its courage to face the truth, to listen with open hearts and to move forward with honesty . . . This is a place of ideas and energy - a state alive with culture, creativity and difference, where people come not just to live, but to belong."

"So to me, the next 25 years is about putting the right things in place to create that change [including recommendations 33.4 - children and families - and 33.1 - healing centres - from the Royal Commission Into Victoria's Mental Health System, link below] - not just close the gaps, but for our people to be happy, healthy, healed and prospering."

"In 25 years, I hope [my grandchildren's] trauma is minimised, - where they can walk in two worlds and . . . be safe."

"Healing is unique and different for everyone. It's holistic and connection is essential. Culture and cultural practice is integral to healing safely and there is no end point to that journey."

It was quite something.

References:
Closing the Gap: https://www.niaa.gov.au/our-work/closing-gap
Royal Commission report: https://www.niaa.gov.au/our-work/closing-gap
Yoorook Justice Commission: https://www.yoorrook.org.au/

Partners:
City Of Port Phillip
Mental Health Victoria
VAADA - The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association

09/02/2026

Our 25th Anniversary Futures Forum is TOMORROW!

Don’t miss this live, in-the-round conversation about what’s possible, and necessary, in the next 25 years of care, justice and community.

Final release tickets available, but you need to register:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Date: Wed 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm (arrive 2.30pm)
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall

02/02/2026

This is the conversation our sectors need RIGHT NOW!

The First Step Futures Forum brings together respected leaders from across mental health, AOD, justice and lived experience to ask:

What do we want our sectors to look like in 25 years.

And what will it take to get us there?

This in-the-round, live forum is part of First Step’s 25th anniversary series, and seats are filling fast.

Speakers include:
* Sheree Lowe, Executive Director, VACCHO
* Professor Patrick McGorry AO, Executive Director, Orygen
* Clare Davies, Chief Executive Officer, SHARC

Free to attend but registration essential:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Date: Wed 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall

Presented in partnership with , Health Victoria and the City of Port Phillip.

30/01/2026

The time to ask big questions is now.

With the release of the Victorian AOD Strategy 2025–2035, the future of our sectors is up for discussion.
Join the Futures Forum and help shape what comes next.

Presented by First Step
In partnership with and Health Victoria

Free to attend but registration essential:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Date: Wed 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall

19/01/2026

What does the future look like when lived experience leads?

Clare Davies, CEO of , brings a peer-led lens to the First Step Futures Forum, asking what must change for systems to reflect the people they serve.

Let’s imagine the next 25 years together.

Free to attend but registration essential:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Date: Wed 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall

14/01/2026

We’re asking one big question: What do we want our sectors to look like in 25 years?

Join us at First Step’s biggest Thought Leadership event yet - the Futures Forum - where we will explore what the next 25 years of care, justice and equity could look like.

Free to attend but registration essential:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Date: Wed 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall

09/01/2026

We’re proud to present the First Step Futures Forum, a bold public conversation exploring the future of mental health, AOD, justice and lived experience.

Hosted by Rev Tim Costello AO, this in-the-round panel event brings together sector leaders, decision-makers and community voices to ask:

What do we want our sectors to look like in 25 years?

Speakers include:

Sheree Lowe, Executive Director, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc
Professor Patrick McGorry AO, Executive Director, Orygen
Clare Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Help Addiction Resource Centre - SHARC

Date: Wednesday 11 February 2026
Time: 3:00–5:00pm (doors open 2:30pm)
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall
Free event – registration essential:
https://events.humanitix.com/first-step-futures-forum

Presented by First Step in partnership with - The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association and Mental Health Victoria

Address

18 Mitford Street
St Kilda, VIC
3182

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.firststep.org.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The First Step Program posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in St Kilda?

Our Story

First Step is a mental health and addiction treatment ‘hub’ located in St.kilda, Vic. For nearly 20 years we have practiced the team care of clients, providing free-of-charge access to GP's (with vast AOD experience) psychologists, psychiatrists, case workers, mental health nurses, criminal and specialist family violence lawyers among others.

All practitioners practice from the one location at 42 Carlisle Street, St.Kilda. This is essential for people suffering from acute addiction & mental health as they are often too chaotic to cope with multiple appointments and whose care is optimised by accessing the expertise of multiple practitioners all working together.

First Step truly understands that effective treatment of highly complex conditions (like mental ill-health and addiction) is contingent on the input of different areas of expertise and this is extensively facilitated within the operating structure of First Step.

It is our mission to ensure that every person has every chance to turn their lives around.