Universes collided last week at the Sechelt Nation Longhouse, combusting into a day filled with emotion, knowledge and hope.
Opened Doors Substance Abuse Task Force, along with the Sechelt Nation Health and Social Development drug and alcohol department, presented an event designed to bring First Nations people and the surrounding community together to discuss drug and alcohol prevention on the Coast.
The day started on an upbeat note with the announcement that Chatelech/Sechelt Community School will continue to receive funding for the Opened Doors Substance Abuse Task Force, which serves the entire Coast. "The fact that the Opened Doors Substance Abuse Task Force will receive funding to continue the work begun under the Community Meth Response Program means that we will be able to offer other education sessions in the future," said Heather Gordon, project manager at the Community Meth Response Program and event co-ordinator. More good news came with the announcement that Vancouver Coastal Health will be funding a school-based prevention position this fall.
"The person filling this position will be available to assist requesting teachers in delivering the Ministry of Education's curriculum requirements with respect to alcohol and drugs," Gordon said. All this good news was a warm welcome for the First Nations people who had lost an elder the night before. Despite the need to grieve, they honoured their commitment and carried on with the day. Gordon said the First Nations people were given the opportunity to back out of the event, and their decision to stay on was most impressive.
As the formalities of the morning came to an end, the presentations began. In a captivating visual presentation, Leanna Buffie, the Sea to Sky school-based prevention supervisor, showed the group of 70-plus attendees what crystal meth does to the addict's body, pointing to the holes it puts in the brain, among other devastating effects. Moving the presentations along from holes in the brain to holes in the heart, Bill Bertschy from Sliammon Nation, focused on healing the spirit. He says it is essential to identify spiritual suffering in an addict's life and that finding wholeness is essential to recovery. With the afternoon scheduled for discussion, Sechelt Mayor Cam Reid sat down in a circle amongst a unique group of constituents: drug addicts, youth outreach workers, Sechelt Indian Band members and slick Vancouverites. "This is the first time I've seen the entire community come together like this to address the issue of substance abuse on the Coast," Reid said.
The discussion lasted for over two hours, with people sharing their stories of recovery and others sharing stories of helping those in need of recovery. People were eager to explain their ideas on how to make the Coast a place where people don't have to leave to find help. Discussion about building a recovery house dominated the first part of the afternoon. The day is being declared a success.
"The event met the joint committee's expectations that we could come together as two communities to discuss an issue that is important to anyone living on the Sunshine Coast," Gordon added.
