Renowned author, Tom Valenta OAM, who penned A Time of Hope, the story about how a group of local champions won hearts and minds to create a vital facility for the Gippsland region, and how the community embraced the construction of an alcohol and other drugs (AOD) residential rehabilitation facility at Lucknow, visited Bairnsdale last week to tour the Hope Centre and attend a number of book signings with Hope Restart Centre (HRC) board members.
Tom is a former journalist who worked for a period in Sale and is a world travelled public relations practitioner.
His book is his fourth in the AOD sector and his 12th non-fiction title.
He has written The History of Odyssey House in Australia, The History of TaskForce Community Agency, co-authored with Dr John Sherman Drug Addiction in Australia, and a range of topics including Alzheimer’s Disease and cystic fibrosis.
The book is a demonstration of community cohesion and the commitment of the health sector, educators and local businesses who led federal and state governments to provide substantial support.
The HRC Board recently hosted the online launch of the book and have an online shop.
Copies of the book can be acquired online by entering “Hope Centre Book Purchase” in your search engine and would make a wonderful historical gift.

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The story of the Hope Restart Centre – a drug rehabilitation clinic east of Bairnsdale – which opened in January this year, has been told in a book written by Tom Valenta, titled A Time of Hope. Tom was in Bairnsdale last week for the official launch of the book. PICTURED: Foundation members and Hope Restart Centre initiators, Peter and Margaret Down, Tom Valenta, East Gippsland Shire mayor, Cr Mendy Urie, executive manager of respite services with Odyssey House Victoria, Eric Allen, Hope Centre board member, John Glynn, and executive board member, Peter Neal.