november 21, 2013
DESCRIPTION
Section U of the November 21, 2013 edition of the Comox Valley RecordTRANSCRIPT
The Substance Use Program works in an integrated fashion with all Mental Health teams and our community partners. These partners include:
Substance Abuse Intervention Program: Assessment, intervention and referral for persons requiring detox. 250-339-1573Alcohol & Drug Information & Referral Service: Information and referral services for people with any kind of substance abuse. 1-800-663-1441Alcoholics Anonymous: 24-hour line 250-338-8042Narcotics Anonymous: 24-hour line 1-800-379-6652
COMOX VALLEY MENTAL HEALTHand SUBSTANCE USE SERVICES941C England Avenue, Courtenay 250-331-8524 Providing services to the Comox Valley, from Oyster River to
Fanny Bay, including Denman and Hornby Islands
Services are confidential, free of charge, and wheelchair accessible. We welcome all members of our diverse community.
Please phone or drop by the officeMonday to Friday, 8:30 – 4:30
(Closed 12-1 for lunch)
Substance Use ServicesWe provide assessment, treatment,
treatment planning, and referrals for adults who are concerned about their own or
someone else’s use of alcohol or drugs. One-to-one treatment, including a daily drop-in
Early Recovery Program (ERP) and weekly Co-Ed Co-Dependency Groups, are available.
Phone support is available between 8:30-9 a.m. and 3:30-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Substance Use Program works in an integrated fashion with all C.V. Mental Health Teams and our
community partners. Some of these partners include:Substance Abuse Intervention Program:
Assessment, intervention and referral for persons requiring detox. 250-339-1573
Alcohol & Drug Information & Referral Service:Information and referral services for people with any
kind of substance abuse. 1-800-663-1441
Crisis Line 1-888-494-3888Comox Valley Recovery Centre
Lilli House
Narcotics Anonymous:24-hour line 1-800-379-6652
Alcoholics Anonymous:24-hour line 250-338-8042
Renee AndorRecord Staff
The Community Drug Strategy Committee works to educate Comox Valley res-idents about substance use and promote the importance of making healthy choices.
According to chair Doug Hillian, the committee’s two primary focuses are organizing events to sup-port National Addictions Awareness Week (Nov. 18 to 24 this year) and providing grants to schools and com-munity organizations to pro-mote substance prevention activities in the Valley.
“Apart from that, it is a spot where people from the community can come and raise issues of concern,” con-tinues Hillian. “For example, we had a parent that came and met with us one time whose child had died through a drug overdose and was really concerned about young people in the community having access to information.
“So, we were not only able to give that person an opportunity to be heard, for their ideas to be brought forward, but to actually look
at, ‘Well, can we do some sort of a poster campaign in school? Or, is there some-thing that we can do where this parent’s experience can be shared with others?’ So, it provides a bit of a vehicle for people to come forward.”
According to Hillian, who sits on Courtenay council, past Courtenay councillor Nooral Ahmed applied for funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities which enabled the commit-tee to form in 2002. The City of Courtenay started fund-ing the committee in 2003 and has provided the only ongoing funding the commit-tee receives. The committee receives $15,000 per year from the City.
The Community Drug Strategy Committee typi-cally uses some funding to organize various activities held during National Addic-tions Awareness Week, such as bringing guest speakers to the Valley.
Past guest speakers include Dr. Gabor Maté, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghost: Close Encounters with Addic-tion, and Matt Bellace, a motivational speaker who
discussed staying drug- and alcohol-free and learning about natural highs.
Meanwhile, the committee awards grants of up to $500 each year to various school and community organization substance use prevention projects. This past year saw 17 projects funded via its alcohol and drug prevention education fund.
Organizations and schools
can submit a project pro-posal by Jan. 10 to be con-sidered. The projects vary and some past ones have included: bringing in guest speakers to discuss topics like crystal meth use, drink-ing and driving and sexual exploitation; peer mentor-ship programs; and art workshops and shows.
As well, the committee gives $500 financial aid
awards to two graduating Comox Valley students who have chosen to remain drug- and alcohol-free during their secondary school experi-ences. To receive a Smart Choice Award, students must submit a one-page essay outlining their choice to Karen Rushton at [email protected].
Once the project or event is complete, the school or
organization must submit a summary report, which is due in June for school projects, and November for community organization projects.
The committee is made up of members from various community organizations and agencies, which encour-ages networking.
“We’ve had people from the business commu-nity, from the RCMP, from human services, from the addictions and recovery community,” says Hillian. “It provides a place for folk to come together with those backgrounds, have that conversation and also you can link their expertise to the different groups that are working out in the school and in the community.”
For more information, including a link to the Comox Valley Drug and Alcohol Services Directory, visit www.courtenay.ca/com-munity/community-drug-strategy.aspx. For up to date information about coming events and projects, visit Community Drug Strategy Committee (Comox Valley) on Facebook.
THE COMMUNITY DRUG Strategy Committee includes Vicki Luckman, (left to right), Cindy Jesse, Ian Lidster, Doug Hillian, (committee chair), Sam Sommers and Karen Rushton. Miss-ing from the photo are Nicole Hall, Anne House, Nicole McKeown, Craig Olson and Sarah Sullivan.
DRUG STRATEGYDRUG STRATEGYDRUG STRATEGYDRUG STRATEGYDRUG STRATEGYCOMMUNITY
Committee has strategy to prevent drug abuse
2 Thursday, November 21, 2013 • COMOX VALLEY RECORD COMMUNITY DRUG STRATEGY www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Renee AndorRecord Staff
Healthy Choices Day, youth art classes and par-ent workshops dealing with youth substance use are just a few examples of Comox Valley projects the Commu-nity Drug Strategy Commit-tee helped make happen.
Over the past year, the committee funded 17 proj-ects via its alcohol and drug prevention education fund. Committee member and RCMP Const. Nicole Hall says the projects are suc-cessful, noting they go fur-ther than drug and alcohol prevention.
“More importantly it’s about helping our youth be the most educated and con-fident they can be through a variety of ways,” says Hall. “Sometimes it’s not about ‘The Drugs’ but about ‘doing good for one’s self,’ which in turn can make the youth all that more productive and healthy in the end — which is what we all want.”
Thanks to grants from the committee the Hornby and Denman Community Health Care Society has been able engage island youth in a Bent Art program for the past two years.
Youth outreach and sup-port worker Lanna Kroen-ing says the project was so successful the first year that she applied for a grant again to do the program a second year.
Youth got together after school on Fridays; they cooked a meal together and created ‘bent art’ for a few hours. According to Kroen-ing, a goal of the project was to avoid buying materials to make the art pieces, so youth
collected materials from the Island free stores, recycling bins, even using ‘garbage’ and materials from nature.
“The project has ended each year with a month-long art show that was held at the Kaffee Klatsch Bistro on Denman Island,” says Kroening.
She adds the participants really enjoyed the program each year, and participating in an activity is important when working with youth.
“We find we are most successful in working with youth when we are work-ing on some kind of activity together versus staring at them from across a desk,” explains Kroening.
“We try to focus on build-ing safe spaces for the youth to be — we draw on their strengths, plan activities to build confidence and self-esteem, and let them be cre-ative,” continues Kroening. “Our drug education focuses on prevention and we try to create an atmosphere where the youth do not feel judged.”
A grant from the Commu-nity Drug Strategy Commit-tee also helped educate over 350 Grade 8 and 9 students at Mark R. Isfeld Second-ary School about making healthy choices.
February’s Healthy Choices Day at Isfeld saw students learn about drug and alcohol use, and gain information to help them make healthy choices via a variety of platforms includ-ing lecture, open house and conversational settings.
Local organization repre-sentatives provided informa-tion about the services they offer, and gave chances for students to ask questions and discuss the themes raised during the work-shops.
Organizer Shelley Robin-son, who is now principal at Denman and Hornby Island schools, says students found
the information useful.“They completed sur-
veys and indicated that they found the day very interesting and impact-ful,” says Robinson. “They were pleased to know that there were multiple ways that they could explore the topic of substance abuse in lecture, open forum, and dia-logical settings.”
She adds pulling in stake-holders from the Valley, who taught students about substance use and its rela-tionship to mental health, worked well.
“There is no one way to prevent students from doing drugs,” she contin-ues. “Therefore, we have to be intentional about provid-ing multiple opportunities to learn more about the harmful effects of substance abuse, especially when stu-dents are still developing physically, emotionally and mentally.”
A three-part workshop series for parents and care-givers recently wrapped up at the Comox Valley Boys and Girls Club location.
Comox Valley Boys and
Girls Club parent services co-ordinator Melanie Rock-well notes Navigating the Challenges of Youth Sub-stance Use was offered in partnership with the John Howard Society.
The workshop series was free. Each session was 2.5 hours long, and topics dis-cussed included information about substances, examining beliefs, values and attitudes around substance use, how to foster resiliency in chil-dren, mastering the art of awkward conversations, strategies for implement-ing boundaries and conse-quences and fostering hope and next steps, among other topics.
“Drug and alcohol use or potential experimentation, use and misuse is probably the biggest concern/fear for parents that we see in our programs,” says Rockwell, noting the workshop series
was tailored and facilitated by the John Howard Soci-ety’s Wendy Morin.
The series was designed to “offer an in-depth work-shop focused on substance use that would help par-ents gain more knowledge, insights, understandings and confidence in their approach and conversations with their youth,” she adds.
• • •Schools and organizations
can receive a grant of up to $500 via the Community Drug Strategy Committee’s alcohol and drug prevention education fund.
Proposals may be submit-ted until Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. For more information or to submit a proposal, e-mail Community Drug Strategy Committee co-ordinator Karen Rushton at [email protected] or call her at 250-339-3603.
YOUTH CREATE ‘Bent Art’ as part of a Hornby and Denman Community Health Care Society program made possible thanks to a grant from the Community Drug Strategy Committee.
Projects funded by committeeDoing good for one’s self describes aim of programs
❝ We try to focus on building safe spac-es for the youth to be – we draw on their strengths, plan activities to build confidence and self-esteem, and let them be creative. Our drug education focuses on prevention and we try to create an atmosphere where the youth do not feel judged. ❞ — Lanna Kroening
Renee AndorRecord Staff
Although two Community Drug Strategy Committee members employ very differ-ent strategies for substance use prevention in their career fields, both stress its importance.
Vicki Luckman manages the programs operating out the Courtenay office of John Howard Society of North Island, which provides services to youth, children, adults and families. She says JHSNI focuses on developing resiliency in kids to minimize their involve-ment with substances.
“We’re looking at increas-ing those protective factors like connection to school, connection to adults, con-nection to healthy activities, and minimizing the risk fac-tors, which often are around poverty, disconnection from school, lack of healthy activi-ties for the individual,” says Luckman.
JHSNI’s KidStart mentor-ing program is an example of a program which develops resiliency through connec-tion, according to Luckman.
Similar to Big Brothers Big Sisters, KidStart match-es kids aged eight to pre-teen with an adult mentor, (girls with women/boys with men). The youth mentors
spend three hours per week doing fun activities.
“That really is a preven-tion program because it’s based on supporting the youth, giving the youth new experiences to draw on, to help them in the future to make decisions about themselves,” says Luckman, adding the program devel-ops positive self-esteem for youths, too.
“The mentors help them to get connected in recre-ational activities, or just participate in community events. So, the mentorship
relationship helps connect them to community.”
Luckman notes the pro-gram has been up and run-ning for about five years and JHSNI has collected feed-back from the kids and men-tors since it was started.
“What we have found is that school often becomes a more positive experience for the kids; they attend more regularly, they’re doing bet-ter, they get along better in their relationships at home
and on the school grounds,” she adds.
The Summer Challenge program, offered to youth this past summer in part-nership with the Comox Valley School District, is another example of build-ing resiliency in youth, says Luckman.
Students between ages 14 and 16 participated in the month-long program which featured a blended learn-ing model through Navigate powered by NIDES (North Island Distance Education School) and plenty of time
spent participating in out-door activities.
A couple of important ways parents can help their kids avoid substance use are keeping the lines of commu-nication open and seeing the strengths their kids possess, according to Luckman.
Meanwhile, Sam Som-mers co-ordinates the adult substance use recovery team at Comox Valley Men-tal Health and Addictions, where she says prevention
means relapse prevention.Offered via Island Health,
(formerly Vancouver Island Health Authority), the adult substance use recovery ser-vices include an early recov-ery program, and one-on-one sessions.
The early recovery pro-gram features drop-in morn-ing and afternoon groups. Attendees must be 24 hours clean so they are not a trig-ger to others in the group sessions, notes Sommers.
As well, confidential one-on-one sessions are offered to people struggling with addiction.
“We try and get that mes-sage out there that recovery is absolutely possible, that as long as somebody’s still alive, it’s still possible, which is why we also embrace harm reduction under the umbrella of prevention,” she says, noting harm reduction services can include services like safe injection sites and
offering clean needles to decrease the spread of dis-ease.
Sommers notes stigma surrounds harm reduction services, and addiction in general.
“I don’t think anybody grows up aspiring to become addicted,” says Sommers. “There are many different trails that lead to that end but the bottom line is most people who end up in that situation are self-shaming, and society shames.”
She adds many people have trouble understand-ing addiction and recovery, pointing to how hard it can be for someone struggling with addiction to seek help.
“I don’t think people really realize the kind of courage it takes to make a decision to walk through the door of an agency like the one I work in, walk through that door with the ‘Mental Health and Addictions’ sign,”
she says.“Many people have said
they’ve circled this building for weeks and months and sometimes even longer try-ing to work up the courage to come in because it is a big thing.”
She adds recovery takes plenty of courage, support and diligence to work, but, she stresses, it is possible.
The Addiction Client Advisory Committee is a group of people who have gone through the Comox Valley Mental Health and Addictions service and want to give back to the commu-nity.
For more information about Comox Valley Mental Health and Addiction servic-es, call 250-331-8524 or visit www.viha.ca. For more infor-mation about John Howard Society North Island, call 250-338-7341 or visit www.jhsni.bc.ca.
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com COMMUNITY DRUG STRATEGY COMOX VALLEY RECORD • Thursday, November 21, 2013 3
COMOX VALLEY STUDENTS participate in the Summer Challenge program, which the John Howard Society’s Vicki Luckman says is an example of building strengths and resilience in youth, decreasing the likelihood of problematic substance use.
Drug prevention achieved using variety of methods
❝ I don’t think anybody grows up aspiring to become addicted. There are many different trails that lead to that end but the bottom line is most people who end up in that situation are self-shaming, and society shames. ❞ — Sam Sommers
4 Thursday, November 21, 2013 • COMOX VALLEY RECORD COMMUNITY DRUG STRATEGY www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Awards for smart choices
The Community Drug Strategy Committee gives $500 financial aid Smart Choice Awards to two gradu-ating Comox Valley students who have chosen to remain drug- and alcohol-free dur-ing their secondary school experiences. Students must submit a one-page essay out-lining their choice to Karen Rushton at [email protected]. Contact Karen for more information.
Anonymous student essay:
“I don’t understand why anyone would choose to do drugs.”
This is how I began my DARE essay in the sixth grade and the statement holds true today. I can’t wrap my head around it.
Why would you inten-tionally put yourself in a vulnerable position, unable to think clearly, unaware of your actions, all the while damaging your body? I’ve never used drugs or alcohol and don’t intend to. It just doesn’t compute with me.
Drinking or using drugs will affect your behaviour and your actions, as well as your thinking. Is that not a recipe for disaster?
You have no idea how you’re going to come out of an experience like that. It’s terrifying to think that for an hour or two, you can escape all rational thinking. Any and every decision will be impaired — this could lead to consequences as sim-ple as embarrassing Face-book pictures to something potentially fatal like getting into a drunken friend’s car.
As for ‘peer pressure?’ I don’t want to be so bold as to say I’m unaffected, but when
it comes to drinking or using drugs, kids (and adults, too) have got to learn to think for themselves. Luckily, I’ve always been a very indepen-dent person and don’t let others influence my choices, good or bad. I have friends that do smoke or drink and I have friends that don’t. If anyone offers me anything, I say no and usually advise them to do the same. I don’t think ‘peer pressure’ is a
good enough excuse for get-ting involved in illegal sub-stances.
You always have a choice.
And doesn’t anyone think about what drugs or drinking does to the body?
It doesn’t seem to be on the typical teenager’s mind, but it certainly would be in my case. I have had lifelong health issues.
If I drink alcohol or smoke it may render me unqualified for a transplant should the time come. It would be incredibly stupid to cause myself permanent harm all for a ‘high’ or a night I wouldn’t remember. Transplant eligibility aside, depositing soot and chemi-cals all the way down your airways is not only disgust-ing, but much more harmful than any 16-year-old seems capable of envisioning.
I may never understand why people choose to get involved in drugs or alco-hol. I’ll certainly never do it myself — I don’t want my judgment impaired, any ‘drunk accidents,’ or liver damage. Peer pressure? Grow up and hold yourself accountable for your choices. You’re the one who has to live with them.
❝ Drinking or using drugs will affect your behav-iour and your actions, as well as your thinking. Is that not a recipe for disaster? ❞
THE WACHIAY FRIENDSHIP Centre in Courtenay is one of many agencies that is listed in the Comox Valley Drug and Alcohol Services directory on the City of Courtenay website at www.courtenay.ca.
AIDS Vancouver Island (AVI) Phone: 250-338-7400 355-6th Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1M2
Alano Club Phone: 250-338-0041Website: www.alanoclub.comoxvalley.comE-mail: [email protected] Street, Courtenay, V9N 1M5
Al-Anon/Alateen1-888-4AL-ANON (1-888-425-2666)Toll Free, Monday through Friday, 5:00 AM to 3:00 PM, PST.Website: www.bcyukon-al-anon.org
Alcoholics AnonymousPublic Information: 250-338-8042Website: www.bcyukonaa.org
The Bees’ NestLise Carignan or Rod BraunPhone: 250-871-0384; Cell: 250-218-1602E-mail: [email protected]: www.beesnest.ca
Comox Valley Recovery CentrePhone: 250-338-7144, 1-866-708-2872 (toll free)641 Menzies Avenue, Courtenay, V9N 3C3
Comox Valley Transition SocietyBusiness Phone: 250-897-051124 Hour Crisis Line: 250-338-1227Website: www.cvts.caE-mail: [email protected]
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)Const. Nicole Hall, Community Policing/Media LiaisonPhone: 250-334-5918E-mail: nicole.hall @rcmp-grc.gc.ca
John Howard Society of North Island- Youth & Family Substance Use Services1455 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K6Phone: 250-338-7341
Mental Health & Addiction Services (VIHA)941C England Avenue, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2N7250-331-8524
Nar-Anon (Family Group)1-800-477-6291 (Toll Free)Rene at 250-334-2392Sharon at 250-339-7906Website: www.nar-anon.org
Narcotics Anonymous (Vancouver Island North and Powell River Area)1-877-379-6652 (Toll Free). Website: www.bcrna.bc.ca
School District No. 71 (Comox Valley)250-334-5500 (School Board Office)607 Cumberland RoadCourtenay, BC, V9N 7G5
Stepping Stones House for Women250-897-0360 – Between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.Website: www.steppingstonesrecovery-house.caE-mail: [email protected]
Substance Abuse Intervention Program (St. Joseph’s General Hospital)250-339-1573 – Denise Ingram or Chris-tine Knights2137 Comox Avenue, Comox, BC, V9M 1P2E-mail: [email protected]
Wachiay Friendship Centre250-338-77931625B McPhee Avenue (P.O. Box 3204),
Courtenay, BC, V9N 5N4
Agencies � ght substance abuse