Community symposium to raise funds for Dorie’s House Treatment Centre
Two speakers will share their powerful stories of trauma, resilience and recovery during an upcoming community symposium and fundraiser organized by Southwest Youth Emergency Shelter Inc., which operates the Dorie’s House Treatment Centre in Swift Current.
The Empowerment through Recovery community symposium will take place at the Living Sky Casino Event Centre, March 16.
The featured speakers are Chris Beaudry, the former Humboldt Broncos assistant coach who arrived on the scene of the 2018 bus crash shortly after it happened, and former hockey player Brady Leavold, who struggled with addiction and mental health issues and founded the Puck Support Network.
The loss of players and staff in the bus crash was a life-changing experience for Beaudry, but his perspectives on recovery also include childhood memories of his mother’s struggle with drug addiction and his own alcohol abuse as a teenager. Leavold, who played 139 games for the Swift Current Broncos from 2003 to 2008, was unable to realize his hockey dreams due to his personal struggles, but now uses his story of recovery to help others. Southwest Youth Emergency Shelter Executive Director Rebecca Donnelly said the organization is excited to host these speakers during the community symposium, because it is important to talk about trauma, substance misuse and mental health.
“It’s something that Dorie’s House believes in as well,” she said. “These discussions need to be brought out into the open, there’s strength in asking for help and there’s empowerment having gone through something really difficult and coming through the other side.”
The initial component of the community symposium will actually take place on March 15, when Beaudry and Leavold will speak to students at the Swift Current Comprehensive High School. This will be followed by their presentation on March 16 at the community symposium and fundraiser at the Living Sky Casino.
“Chris and Brady just have a real like-ability factor,” Donnelly said. “They’re down to earth, they really care about the subject matter and they’ve both done efforts to reach the general community, but youth specifically. A lot of what’s impacted the events in their life happened when they were younger and they were developing. So that it’s important for them to connect to youth in that way.”
She added that the Dorie’s House Treatment Centre’s approach is not to tell youth what to do or what not to do, but to empower them to make healthy and informed-decisions.
“Our hope is to show them positive examples of you can fall down and you can get back up again,” she said. “You can come out the other side and you can be stronger and with a powerful, positive perspective.”
The concept of a community symposium with two powerful speakers fits in well with their intention as an organization to not only support youth, but to work on prevention and education on a broader level. This includes engaging the community to raise awareness as a way to build a healthier community.
“There’s a multitude of substance abuse prevention and mental health improvement intervention, but the ones that prove the most successful have that component of providing education opportunities for families and the community, and on the youth side having those positive examples of adult recovery,” she said. “Something that’s important to Dorie’s House is we work with youth specifically, but you can’t work with them alone. You really have to consider the families that they are in and the community as a whole.”
Dorie’s House offers a six-bed in-patient and six out-patient treatment program for youth ages 12-18 who struggle with substance misuse. The intention is to provide youth with opportunities to evaluate how their substance misuse will influence their own lives and the lives of those around them. Dorie’s House also offers two emergency beds for youth in crisis or transition who need extra support. The funds raised through the community symposium on March 16 will support their programming. Dorie’s House Treatment Centre receives core funding through the partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, but additional fundraising makes it possible to have some extra activities with youth outside of regular programming.
“So we’re hoping to be able to develop our virtual care to have ways that we can reach out to youth virtually across the entire southwest,” Donnelly said. “Another thing this will be going towards is complementing our outreach programming. I think a big part of working with youth is not only focusing on the problems, but helping to explore their interests and find out what they want to do, what path do they want to go on to and what vocational interests might they have. So our hope is to help promote some programming where we’re just providing opportunities for youth in general in the community.”
Dorie’s House Treatment Centre started an outreach program last fall as part of its youth empowerment strategy. There is a drop-in night on Monday evenings with recreational activities and workshops about life skills. A youth advisory committee has been established that meets once a month and they are looking at doing their own fundraisers.
“So it’s really exciting to have been able to launch that programming, because it helps us with feeling more connected to the youth and meeting them in a positive way,” she said. “They can come in and have fun and learn, but also express themselves and let us know what they feel the needs are and where we should be focusing. So it’s been amazing.”
The Empowerment through Recovery community symposium and fundraiser on March 16 will provide a sit-down meal followed by the two speakers as well as a question-and-answer session. Tickets are $100 each and tables are available for group bookings of 10 people. Tickets for cash or cheque purchase are available at Len’s Plumbing or Nightjar Diner in Swift Current. E-transfers can be sent to info@ southwestyes.com