‘The opposite of addiction is connection’: New recovery homes aim to break cycle of addiction in the Battlefords

The presentation to council focused on a new sober-living housing model the organization is building in North Battleford, one aimed at helping people stay sober after treatment instead of returning to the same environments tied to addiction.

“So the first solution is for people to come to treatment, and then what you know, if you’re to go back to where you came from, chances are you’re not going to get well,” said Libby Szarka, an addictions counsellor presenting on behalf of the centre.

The organization plans to open four sober-living homes in the city, including six men’s beds and five women’s beds spread across four properties.

Residents would be required to remain clean and sober while working, volunteering, attending school or actively searching for employment. The homes are not yet operating, but the organization is already seeing demand and preparing properties before residents move in.

Szarka acknowledged some residents may be uneasy about sober-living homes operating in residential neighbourhoods, but said the organization has seen attitudes shift in other communities where the model already exists.

She pointed to one of the group’s first recovery homes in Slave Lake, Alta., which she said had previously been used as a “trap house.”

“There was a chop shop in the back,” Szarka stated. “We bought that house, we took people from our recovery treatment center there to do the work, and we cleaned it up.”

She said neighbours who were initially worried about the home eventually embraced it.

“I just had the neighbor text me the other day, ‘Hey, are you still the person I call if I need something?’” she said.

“He’s like, ‘I hurt my shoulder. Do you think you guys can help cut the grass?’ We’re like, ‘Absolutely.’”

Staff said the North Battleford homes will include curfews, regular check-ins and ongoing support through counsellors, recovery coaches, nurses and cultural programming. Residents will also be required to attend recovery meetings and secure sponsors as part of their recovery plans.

But they stressed the housing is about more than rules or supervision.

“The opposite of addiction is connection,” said Darlene Marchuk, the centre’s clinical manager.

“Just like it takes a whole community to raise a child, and it also takes the whole community to help somebody recover from addiction.”

Chris, who spent years trapped in addiction and the justice system since his teenage years, said, “Poundmakers connected me with my culture and taught me a lot.”

The treatment centre’s recovery model includes ceremonies, elders and cultural supports alongside addiction treatment and housing.

The discussion came during the same council meeting where Battlefords RCMP raised concerns about rising violence, addictions and mental health pressures in the community.

Mayor Kelli Hawtin said she toured the treatment centre months earlier and met a young man nearing the end of his stay.

“He was scared of that,” Hawtin said, describing his fear of returning to the same house and environment connected to his addiction.

“I see him in the community now, and he is in the condition that he was in before he went to treatment, and housing is a big piece, and it’s a big piece that municipal governments cannot offer.”

“There are housing gaps in all communities, and this is one of them. And having an organization like Poundmaker’s Lodge coming in and stepping up to take that role on, it’s excellent,” Hawtin stated.

Szarka said residents in the North Battleford homes will not be allowed to have outside guests, and anyone who relapses will be offered help reconnecting with detox and treatment services, though they would not be allowed to continue staying in the home while actively using substances.

She said the organization hopes to continue expanding the recovery housing model as demand grows in the region.

“Definitely, the number, the need is there,” Szarka said.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

‘The opposite of addiction is connection’: New recovery homes aim to break cycle of addiction in the Battlefords

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