Forward Recovery Centre officially opened its doors on Thursday, June 1 at 129 Alberni Hwy. in dowtown Parksville. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Forward House

New addictions support resource launches in Parksville

Jun 2, 2022 | 4:29 PM

PARKSVILLE — A non-profit organization serving people in the Parksville-Qualicum area have expanded from the mental health field to helping those battling all forms of addiction.

Forward House held a grand-opening celebration on Thursday, June 2 at its new downtown Parksville location at 129 Alberni Hwy.

Forward Recovery Centre (FRC) director of recovery services Sareh Tracey said their new programming for adults features one-on-one support, group sessions and providing referrals.

“We help them with the forms, the applications — we aren’t necessarily the experts, but we can help people find the resources that that they’re looking for and help connect them so that they do have a better chance at recovery.”

A team of paid staff and volunteers at the Alberni Hwy. location work with clients by first assessing what their needs are, which includes pivotal related issues such as a lack of housing and healthcare.

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Tracey said providing support in the often challenging and prolonged battle to sustain sobriety in a confidential setting is paramount at a time like this.

“What we’ve noticed over COVID is mental health declined and substance use increased. We were getting a lot more people reaching out that were really struggling,” Tracey told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Drop-in visits and appointments to FRC are both accepted.

Tracey said FRC is designed to provide the level of tailored support over an extended period of time.

“It’s a life-long journey and you need a lot of support and so that’s what we also wanted to do is to be that place where people can get that continued support when they’re already on the path to sobriety.”

Forward House Community Society, a longtime non-profit in the Oceanside area, has provided similar programming to people with mental health issues for nearly two years at a nearby location.

Executive director Sharon Welch said after helping more than 100 people since October 2020 it become clear a new program delivery mechanism was required.

“They’re very two distinct populations, so we decided to keep our mental health services at our house on Hirst Ave. East and we’ve moved the addiction recovery services to this new venue.”

Welch said all FRC staff and volunteers have lived experience with addiction recovery.

She said their organization strongly believes there are a range of strategies to deploy in order to obtain and sustain sobriety.

“We don’t really prefer one thing over another. We recognize that different people need different supports, so we’re trying to make those referrals to the appropriate places and to match people with experiences and supports that are going to work well for them.”

Welch thanked Island Health, Rotary Club of Parksville and private donors, including a substantial anonymous donor, for helping to fund Forward Recovery Centre.

Additional information on the organization can be found at Forward House’ website.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes