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Greg Stegman's relationship with alcohol changed after the 2011 Brisbane floods destroyed his home, with an extra glass of wine during the rebuild gradually becoming a two-bottle-a-night habit. Chris Gimpel's path was different but familiar, a high-pressure banking career in London normalising heavy daily drinking from his early twenties until COVID revealed the extent to his family. Neither found the right fit in traditional support options, but both found their way through Clean Slate Clinic's GP-led home detox programme. Greg marked two years of sobriety in February 2026, and April 2026 marks three years since Chris's last drink.

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Their stories point to a systemic gap. People drinking at harmful levels often delay seeking help for years because available options feel too extreme or too stigmatising. Clean Slate Clinic's home-based model offers an alternative, with a University of Sydney evaluation finding an 82 per cent completion rate. The clinic has submitted a proposal to the Australian Government for a National Hospital Avoidance Program to broaden subsidised access to post-detox support.

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Read Greg's and Chris's story in The Age. Note that The Age operates a paywall.

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