Where does one turn after emerging from years of addiction only to discover that their true self has long been forgotten? The Sea to Sky Community Services recovery house, Awakenings, can provide answers, according to alcohol and drug program supervisor for Sea to Sky Community Services, John Flaherty.
"It's an opportunity to really grow in their own self-development, self-confidence, self-esteem and to open up doors of opportunity that probably prior to this time didn't even know existed," said Flaherty. "It's an absolutely beautiful thing to watch someone literally come back to life."
The six-bed addictions recovery house, located in the Garibaldi Highlands rectory of St. John's Anglican Church, falls under the Sea to Sky Community Services mandate to help addicted individuals determined to get their lives back on track.
"It addresses the real needs, the underlying emotional roots, which are always, always at the core of people's unhappiness and getting stuck into ways of living that really often don't work after a period of time," said Flaherty.
The residential recovery program moved from a house on Depot Rd. and Highway 99 to the rectory in May, and the three-month timeline for most of the residents means two groups have completed the program so far. About 70 to 80 per cent of residents are from the Sea to Sky, and most get referred through initial addictions treatment centres. People can also refer themselves through Sea to Sky Community Services.Prospective residents must be over 19 years of age, must have no violent history and must not be dependent on drugs or substitute treatments such as methadone.
"They must be drug-free and basically ready to make change," said Flaherty. "So they're able to come and give far more of their attention span and commitment to a program that really will serve them well in a very short space of time."
Although a few churchgoers initially expressed concern over the recovery house's location, Flaherty said he's experienced nothing but support for the program.
"It's great to have support of the church community next door. They provide opportunities for us to use their premises for yoga after therapy or music therapy or dance - all those things are great things to introduce into a person's life who otherwise has been totally self-absorbed into a very small world."
And although Flaherty is aware of concerns among residents when such a program is proposed, they soon find that the recovering residents make for very quiet neighbours.
"They've exhausted that way of living or that way of living has exhausted them. Now, knowing what doesn't work, they're more ready to find out what might work.
"So we're here and we're not here. It's a very normal home-like environment, which is the whole thing behind reintegrating into a way of life that we'd like to think people would always value and make important to themselves."
