By Miranda Vecchio
Our hearts go out to the many families who will be facing Family Day with one less family member this year, as the opioid crisis continues to steal our loved ones away from us…
As we move on from Valentine’s Day and approach Family Day, I can’t help but think about how “family” is at the “heart” of everything we do here at Charlford House.
Women tend to be the nurturers, care-givers, thus the nucleus of a family unit. That is why so much of what happens to a woman, has a further-reaching impact on those around her.
Women in our rehab facility stay for a minimum of 90 days. That’s a long time to be away from family – especially if they have young children. It is a very small window of time however, to achieve long-term, significant changes that need to occur while here.
Most women come to us with a history of trauma and abuse which has been a contributing factor to her deciding to use drugs or alcohol in the first place. Without treating such pain-points, the addiction may go untreated and potentially become a generational household disease. At Charlford House, we work very hard to prevent this – but the women who come to stay here, work every bit as hard emotionally, each and every day.
While the women who are in our main program will make do with a weekend phone call or a visit from a loved one (COVID protocol-friendly of course), one woman in our sober living facility is benefitting from the support of her recovery sisters as she has just re-gained full-time custody of her elementary school-aged daughter. Dealing with the stressors of motherhood in a loving and supportive environment, improves the ongoing chances of an intact family success rate considerably.
Many of our alum are celebrating Family Day with their families of origin or the “families” they have built to help keep them clean, sober and spiritually alive, now that they are functioning in the community at large. None of this can be taken for granted. Nothing worth fighting for ever can.
To this point, we acknowledge that over twenty-two hundred BC residents succumbed to overdose last year, with the highest number originating from the Fraser Health region.
From our many hearts and homes to yours: Wishing you love, hope, healing and support – whatever means a Happy Family Day for you.
And honouring each and every soul whose memory is still alive within us.