When you step inside Shalom House as a new resident, be prepared to not only hand over your cigarettes, phone and car keys, but your entire life.

Key points: Shalom House residents work full-time while detoxing

Shalom House residents work full-time while detoxing Program receives no government funding

Program receives no government funding Drug research expert says faith-based rehab "not for everyone"

Shalom House, near Perth, calls itself the strictest drug rehabilitation centre in the country.

Upon entry, residents sign up for a year and agree not to swear, smoke or have visitors.

Even picking up a cigarette butt from the ground will result in getting kicked out of the centre immediately.

The program is run by former drug dealing, gun-running ice addict, Peter Lyndon-James.

"I mean you have to be strict. I'm dealing with heroin, speed, benzos, anxiety, depression, alcohol. I'm dealing with liars and manipulators, I'm dealing with thieves," Mr Lyndon-James said.

"It's my way or the highway; you're here to change your life. Change your life or bugger off."

'I was a good kid'

Jackson lived on the streets after his drug taking pushed his family to breaking point. ( Australian Story: Marcus Alborn )

Australian Story spent a week at Shalom House and documented the arrival of 20-year-old meth addict Jackson.

He breaks down at his interview with Mr Lyndon-James as he tells his story of physical abuse, drug addiction and suicidal thoughts.

"I was a good kid. At the age of seven or eight, my parents divorced and things just went downhill," Jackson said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 28 seconds 28 s Residents have their heads shaved.

His mother Alanah said Jackson had been estranged from the family for many years because of his drug-taking.

"He had one night where he went absolutely ballistic [and] he ruined my house," she said.

"We've all had to close our doors on him so Jackson's been living on the street."

Jackson is upbeat as he waits for the ritual head shaving for new residents.

"It's going to be a good change just knowing this place is going to be that rock to hold me and guide me through the path," he said.

'I first got stoned at four'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 36 seconds 1 m 36 s Nathan says he was born into a world of drugs.

Nathan, 26, is in his second week of the program and is still detoxing after two decades of drug addiction.

"First time I probably got stoned was four years old and then around 10 years old a man stuck a needle in my arm," Nathan said.

Unlike most rehab facilities which insist residents come in "clean", Shalom House runs a medically supervised cold turkey detox.

Even if they are detoxing, men like Nathan are expected to work full-time, starting with community service jobs then moving into paid employment.

Up to 80 men live across nine homes in the Swan Valley. ( Facebook: Shalom House WA )

Mr Lyndon-James has never applied for nor accepted government funding for his program, insisting residents pay for their own rehabilitation.

"It's lots of fun sticking a needle in your arm [but] I don't think it's okay for a man or woman to have all that fun and when their life ends up in a mess for them to rock up at a government organisation and say, 'Hey, I've finished having fun and now you pay to fix me'," he said.

Mr Lyndon-James said residents paid $300 a week for the program, which usually comes out of their Centrelink benefits until Shalom House organises a job for them.

"At the three-month stage, we position our fellows to start work again and they should be in full-time paid work, off all Centrelink benefits, within eight to nine months," he said.

Mr Lyndon-James said he was a full-time volunteer and does not receive an income from Shalom House.

Shalom House residents gain new skills and give back to the community by working in roles including rubbish collection, plumbing, painting and carpentry. ( Supplied: Shalom House )

A new beginning

Mr Lyndon-James, 46, had a troubled family upbringing and spent most of his teenage years in juvenile detention before turning to a life of crime, addiction, and selling drugs and guns.

His wife Amanda, a clean-living country girl who was dux of her school, said she was 17 when she met him.

"As time went on he started introducing me to drugs," Mrs Lyndon-James said.

"People would say, 'Oh why didn't you leave', but I mean, I was actually using as well so for me that was normal."

Throughout his adulthood, Mr Lyndon-James was in and out of jail, until he became a Christian at age 32 and turned his life around.

Peter Lyndon-James spent $7,000 a week at the height of his addiction. ( Supplied: Peter Lyndon-James )

In 2012, he bought a house to "disciple" a few men who were struggling with drug-related issues.

In just five years, Shalom House has grown to now cater for about 70 men, who live in numerous rented properties around the Swan Valley.

The residents are universally welcoming, keen to tell their stories of drug addiction and how Shalom has changed their lives.

With their firm handshakes and strong eye contact, shorn heads and high-visibility work shirts, the men of Shalom do not look like drug addicts.

Mr Lyndon-James said it was a deliberate strategy to counter stereotypes.

"Cover up the tatts and you dress a fellow properly, it gives that bloke a chance to be accepted back into society," he said.

Support in high places

Before he recently lost his seat, Western Australia's former Minister for Corrective Services, Joe Francis, publicly endorsed the program.

"I'll support anyone, regardless of what faith they might be based on, that will help get people off drugs, get them jobs, get their lives back on track," Mr Francis said.

"Because for every one of those men that he succeeds in changing, then that is one less person that will end up back in the prison system."

Bible study and church attendance are fundamental tenets of the program, although Mr Lyndon-James said that believing in God was not compulsory.

"No-one can force anyone to believe anything but we are a faith-based rehabilitation centre," he said.

"If you don't like what I present, you're free to leave at any time you want to."

Amanda and Peter Lyndon-James' marriage survived the depths of drug addiction. ( Supplied: Shalom House )

'Not helpful for everyone'

While not familiar with Shalom House, Professor Nicole Lee from the National Drug Research Institute warned that strict, religious-based rehabilitation centres, while helpful for some, were "probably not for everyone".

"The thing to remember with drug treatment is that it's not a 'one-size fits all'," Professor Lee said.

"Tailored treatment is really the way to go to ensure that long-term success of individuals."

Mr Lyndon-James agreed that Shalom House would not suit everyone and he expected 40 per cent of residents to leave the program.

However, for those who graduate after about 12 months, the organisation claims 80-90 per cent are clean.

Shalom House is struggling to keep up with demand for its services and Mr Lyndon-James wears two mobile phones around his neck to deal with the volume of calls from desperate families seeking advice.

A joint study led by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released in March found the use of ice had escalated across the country and in particular, Western Australia.

Six weeks into the program, Nathan has reconnected with his father, is sober and working hard. ( Australian Story: Marcus Alborn )

Complaints land Shalom in court

Shalom House's rapid growth sparked complaints from the centre's neighbours, prompting a long-running battle with the City of Swan that has ended up in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Mayor Mick Wainwright acknowledged the program was "doing a great job" but said the council's planning scheme did not allow for facilities like Shalom House in that area.

"We can't go and say, 'Well, let's just approve it and move on', because you don't have any legal standing so we need to make sure that we've got that," Cr Wainwright said.

Mr Lyndon-James said he was saddened by the court battle.

"I spent my whole day listening to two parties arguing over the terms of community purpose and rehabilitation while I've got dads and mums sitting in the funeral of their son who's just overdosed on drugs," he said.

But the legal predicament is not slowing down Mr Lyndon-James.

The founder and CEO of Shalom House said he had just rented another property and has plans to take on another 39 residents.

"I've learnt how to change. I've actually pioneered the way. What we do works. And so all I do is teach them what I've learnt. Now, if I can change anyone can change."

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