The Salvation Army Bridge Treatment and Recovery Service Online Forums provide a confidential and anonymous space for people over 18 years of age living in Australia to connect and share support with others impacted by substance use. This includes not only people with a lived experience of substance use or dependence, but also support people and others who may be interested in learning more about substance use and recovery from substance dependence.

Our forums are mostly peer-to-peer support services, with the information provided designed to complement and not replace information provided by treating health professionals.

Although our forums are moderated and facilitated by health professionals and support staff, please keep in mind they do not provide crisis support or counselling. If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs urgent support call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, or in an emergency call 000.

Guidelines

Be respectful

• Be kind to one another, listen without judgement, and consider the feelings of others.
• Appreciate that others may have a different opinion from yours.
• Discrimination, defamation, or belittling will not be tolerated.
• If you see abuse, report it to use by using the ‘report’ button on the forums.
• Do not post content that is:
  • Obscene or offensive (including swearing/offensive language)
  • Malicious, personally attacking, or hostile
  • Discriminatory
  • Serving commercial interests (including advertisements)
  • Providing professional advice (legal/medical/financial)
  • Duplicates another post with the same or similar content

Be safe

• Stay anonymous.
  • Do not share information about yours or others’ name, email, address, workplace, or other identifiable information
  • We recommend using a pseudonym in your username.
• In our public forums we recommend not sharing information you would not be comfortable sharing with a stranger.

Posting

• Please include a link or reference to your data source when posting information that is outside of your personal experience (e.g., statistics, data, studies, medical information).
• When creating a new discussion thread, please provide a clear topic title.
• When contributing to an existing discussion, please try to stay on topic.
• Be mindful that our language can trigger trauma responses in others (and ourselves) or act as a trigger for substance use. Out of respect for people in recovery, please do not publish content that contains graphic or specific details of:
  • Substance use
  • Self-harm or suicide
  • Sexual or physical abuse
  • Any other content that others may find distressing or could be harmful in any way
• Do not post on any forums while intoxicated or under the influence of a substance or substances.

Moderation

Our forums are moderated by health professionals and support staff employed by the Salvation Army Bridge Recovery and Treatment Centre. All moderators will be identifiable as a ‘moderator’ in the forums.

Our moderators have the ability to intervene when the forum guidelines have been breached. However, due to the dynamic nature of forums and the potential number of posts, moderators are often unable to immediately read everything that has been written. Because of this, much of the responsibility for maintaining a supportive environment lies with our forum participants. Please report any posts you are concerned about by using the ‘report’ button on the forums.

If you are concerned about a moderation decision, please contact us and we will respond as soon as is reasonably possible.

If we are unable to publish your post, need to edit your post, or need to remove your post because it breaches our guidelines, you will be advised by email.

The Salvation Army Bridge Recovery and Treatment Centre and staff reserve the right to permanently deactivate the accounts of users who breach our guidelines.

Leaving our online services

You may request to cancel your forum or online program membership at any time. By doing so you understand that your personal information may be confidentially retained, and that all activity associated with your account generated prior to the date of cancellation may remain permanently on our website (e.g., your forum posts will not be deleted).

Privacy

The Salvation Army Bridge Treatment and Recovery Service takes your privacy very seriously. For more information about data collection and information please read our Privacy Policy.

If any material you post raises concerns about your safety or the safety of others, we may contact you to check that you or others are safe. If your safety or the safety of someone else is deemed as being at imminent risk, we have an obligation to also pass your information on to the relevant authorities.

Feedback

The Salvation Army Bridge Treatment and Recovery Service welcomes your feedback. If you wish to provide suggestions, feedback, compliments, or complaints, you can contact us via email: onlineprogram@salvationarmy.org.au or click on the ‘Feedback’ link.

Agreement

By signing up to our online forums it is assumed that you have agreed to all relevant Salvation Army Bridge Treatment and Recovery Centre guidelines.