Men recovering from drug and alcohol addiction will have a greater chance of staying clean with the opening of Bermuda's first halfway house for males.

Focus Counselling Services previewed its new $1.5 million residency centre yesterday in St. George's, located close to Fort St. Catherine.

It must undergo some major structural changes, but the charity hopes to have building work underway by the middle of next year.

When it opens, hopefully in 2002, it will enable men who have successfully completed a 90-day treatment programme with Focus to begin getting their lives back on track.

About 20 men will be able to live at the centre at any one time, receiving continued support and advice from counsellors. It will be used as a centre of transition, where recovering addicts can live with support, but regain their independence.

However, they must work, pay rent and expenses and take responsible roles in the upkeep of the centre - and, of course, stay clear of drugs and alcohol.

And they will also be expected to save money with the goal of re-entering the community.

Strict standards of behaviour will be expected, and random drug testing will be carried out. Failure to comply will could result in being forced to leave.

Co-founder and Executive Director of Focus Sandy Butterfield said the charity had bought the building off Cable and Wireless at a cost of $850,000.

Jerry's House to be a place of new beginnings He added the centre received significant financial help from the Bank of Bermuda's Centennial Trust, among others.

She said: "We have been given this opportunity to acquire this piece of property.

"At the present we are operating a 90-day programme on Darrells Island. The idea of this programme is to remove people from the mainstream and give them the opportunity to deal with the issues around their drug and alcohol addiction.

"After they have finished this programme, it is very important that the clients be in a safe, structured environment, which will give them an opportunity to return to society as productive citizens.'' The new building is to be known as Jerry's House after the charity's co-founder Jerry Griffiths.

It will enable Focus to offer addicts supportive residency for nine and 12 months in a highly structured community.

President of the group, Rory Gorman, said he expected the re-vamping of the building to cost in the region of $750,000, but said it could easily run to more.

Once it was up and running, it will have communal living and kitchen areas and an in-house cook, but separate bedsits for privacy, he said.

It will only be available to male addicts because a similar women's centre is already open, and he said the centre was likely to be more successful if the men had no distractions.

The centre will have counsellors attached to it and staff will be on the site 24-hours a day, with even the possibility of a staff apartment being built on the land.

Mr. Gorman said: "We're extremely excited about this new programme, which will complement the other programmes offered by Focus.

"Our Camp Spirit programme, which we initiated as a pilot programme last year, has been successful, and we now wish to take this initiative one step further.

"Jerry's House will enable us to provide supportive residency to those who are in need.

"We are most grateful to Bank of Bermuda's Centennial Trust for its lead sponsorship.'' David Hampshere, a Director of Bank of Bermuda, said the trust was delighted to be able to help.

He said: "Drug and alcohol addiction is a concern in our community.

"The Centennial Trust is pleased to provide funding for this supportive residency and we commend Focus for taking the initiative to move forward with this project.

"It is only through this kind of support that we will be able to assist Focus clients who have completed the Camp Spirit programme to become productive members of Bermuda's community once again.'' Focus is supported with grants from both the National Drug Commission and The Council Partners Charitable Trust. It also has 20 volunteers who assist with the running of its services.