The newsletter of Pacifica Treatment Centre Fall 2018

Message from the CEO Autumn has arrived; the days are growing shorter and cooler and crops are

being harvested. As the season of Thanksgiving, it is time for us to stop and

take stock of all we have to be grateful for.

At Pacifica, we have much to appreciate. From the clients who choose to take

those vital first steps towards recovery from our centre, to our alumni who

come back to visit or drop us a line from time to time and tell us how they’re

doing.

We are a community-based organization and we thrive by the support of so

many organizations and individuals who place their confidence in our

approach.

I would also like to say how much I am personally grateful for the commitment and dedication of our

staff, board members, and volunteers. You are amazing.

I encourage everyone to take a moment with us to reflect on all you have to be grateful for. It is good for

us to remind ourselves about how blessed we truly are.

Pacifica was recently featured on a Fairchild TV news report on harm reduction and its impact on

addiction treatment. While Pacifica is strictly an abstinence-based program, we certainly understand

that not every person goes from drinking excessively into treatment overnight. We have to detox safely

first. Managed alcohol and drug programs receive a lot of attention these days, but Pacifica remains

committed to abstinence because we believe that, when the time is right, this is the best course of

action for people seeking recovery from addiction. And we intend to be there for them.

If you have any thoughts on ways we can further strengthen our recovery support, we invite your

feedback and comments here. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Alison Silgardo

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First annual Race for Recovery fun run

The weather co-operated (just!) for our first ever Race for Recovery fun run. An impressive number of

alumni, volunteers, staff and supporters turned out to run and walk around Trout Lake on August 12.

Cheered on by our enthusiastic emcee, Colleen Christie from Global TV, participants chalked up the

kilometres and then relaxed with live music, working artists, and great food.

Congratulations to all who took part and a huge thank you to all the volunteers as well as the event

sponsors for making this another successful Pacifica fundraiser: Safeway/Sobey Pharmacy; BMO; James

B. Myers Law Corporation; BC Housing; Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan; UBC Kinesiology;

WorkSafeBC; Rackets & Runners; and Kintec.

Runners and walkers at the starting line of the inaugural Race for Recovery walk/run event in August.

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From left: Pacifica Board Chair Jim Myers; Pacifica CEO Alison Silgardo; and emcee Colleen Christie of Global TV.

Everyone loved the live music performed at the event.

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Artist Jeremy Henrickson, a friend of Pacifica, created this painting on site.

Off to the races! Pacifica was pleased to welcome many of our wonderful supporters to our Community Day at Hastings

Racecourse earlier this month. In addition to a generous $5,000 donation, Hastings Racecourse also

catered a buffet for our guests.

Vancity’s Claudia White won the draw to present the winner of the “Pacifica Cup” to the horse’s jockey,

while other guests were thrilled to win gift certificates from Kintec.

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Darren Macdonald, Hastings (far right) presents Pacifica with a $5,000 donation. Also pictured (from left): Pacifica Board

President Jim Myers; Claudia White, Vancity; Program Manager Dale Wagner; and CEO Alison Silgardo.

From left: Anna Kownacki and her guests Michelle and Stephanie from Sobeys.

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Pacifica board member Elida Kong (far right) and her guests.

Friends of Pacifica: Vancity staff members.

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From left: Friends of Pacifica – Jeremy and Jace (artists) and Mathew (UBC).

Board snapshot: Laurie Beverley

Laurie worked in the health care sector throughout her entire 30-

year career; she recently retired from Alberta Health Services

where she was the provincial executive director for Primary and

Community Care – Addiction and Mental Health. With so much

knowledge, Laurie wasn’t ready to let go entirely. She now gives

back by offering her skills and expertise to groups like Pacifica.

“I see retirement as an opportunity to give back,” said Laurie. “I am

on Pacifica’s governance committee and facilitated establishing our

human resources committee.”

Laurie believes Pacifica is unique in its treatment focus, which

emphasizes recovery and hope. She calls the centre’s various

treatment modalities “quite exceptional.”

She continued, “Addiction and mental health go together; you can’t

separate the two. It’s important to look at both.”

Besides offering her expertise in a voluntary capacity, Laurie also consults periodically. She continues to

serve as a surveyor for Accreditation Canada (something she has done for 18 years) and works with the

Cowichan Communities Health Network. She and her husband now live on Vancouver Island, where they

pursue an active lifestyle that includes hiking, exercise classes, kayaking and golf along with as much

travel as possible. Laurie’s grateful that technology allows her to stay in touch with her fellow Pacifica

board members via email and Skype.

Pacifica board member Laurie Beverley.

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Staff profile: Meet Sadia Ramirez Sadia first became aware of Pacifica when she volunteered to work with

a trauma group that was offered here and was led by Antonio Guzman.

“I came faithfully and ended up co-facilitating the group with Antonio,”

she recalled. “I was a social worker at the time and had worked with

people with mental health and substance use issues. I enjoyed working

with Pacifica’s clients and saw volunteering with the group as a

wonderful opportunity to increase my understanding of the issues and

to receive further training.”

Sadia joined Pacifica’s staff as a social worker in 2013 and became one

of our counsellors in 2014. She describes her work as eclectic. She

provides individual counselling and instruction, works with process

groups several times a week, helps out with intakes and alumni sessions,

and deals with matters that come up and require attention.

“I have strong boundaries and I believe clients need structure,” Sadia added. “However, they also need

the opportunity to be in charge of their treatment. That’s the beauty of Pacifica. This organization

ensures its services take into account a client’s right to self-determination. When a client is in control,

they are more motivated to do what is asked of them. I can and do tell them all the time that they are

bright, smart and resourceful. But unless they believe it, nothing will change. We offer a client-centred

approach that works with their inner strengths.”

Sadia receives tremendous satisfaction from her work and her greatest joy is to see people reintegrating

with their community and enjoying a better quality of life.

“Recovery isn’t linear,” she said, “and there can be some sad times. But I love when our clients do well; I

love to see them as they change and to see them smile.”

Building updates Renovations have been ongoing this year and we recently turned our attention to updating all 13 of our

washrooms. It’s been a long process, but we have replaced the plumbing, upgraded with energy-

efficient lighting, replaced all the countertops, sinks and mirrors, and installed shower and tub

surrounds. It’s been a dramatic transformation and one every client appreciates.

Pacifica counsellor Sadia Ramirez.

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Above and below: Before and after images of our washrooms.

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Central City Foundation provided Pacifica with a generous grant that was put towards exercise bikes in

our leisure rooms as well as security cameras. Clients are making great use of the bikes and enjoy being

able to exercise without going outside on inclement days.

Our lounges are now equipped with exercise bikes and we have new security cameras thanks to a generous donation from

Central City Foundation.

This past summer we were overwhelmed by the generosity of Heritage Office Furnishings for their gift of

office furniture for two client lounges as well as chairs for our counsellors’ offices. In gratitude for these

donations, the women’s lounge has been renamed Heritage Lounge.

We’ve also installed a number of art pieces by Jeremy Henrickson in our group counselling rooms.

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New furniture in the women’s lounge, now named the

Heritage Lounge.

New chairs in the counsellors’ offices.

Group counselling rooms with new artwork by Jeremy Henrickson.

We are also grateful to one of our volunteers, Chris, who cleaned out

and converted one of the closets in Norm Duncan Hall for yoga

equipment storage. Chris put a lot of effort into this labour of love:

measuring the space and designing the custom shelving. Thanks also to

Jay for making the shelves.

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Summer students lend a hand

We would also like to thank the two summer students who were with us in August as part of a Canada Summer Jobs Grant. UBC student Kathleen Tom (pictured above on the left) and SFU student Aman Sangha (right) scanned old client files and took on other admin projects. The amount of work they accomplished over such a short period of time was amazing—and much appreciated.

The difference donations make Pacifica is blessed to have so many supporters who give of both their time and money. Donations allow

us to offer extra services and programs. Our exercise program, for instance, would not be possible

without funds we receive from businesses, organizations, foundations, and individuals. Thank you.

In addition to our website’s donation page, we have a CanadaHelps page where you can donate to us.

No amount is too small and over 98 per cent of what you give is passed on to Pacifica (a 1.8 per cent

processing fee benefits the charitable website itself).

Coming up November 27th is Giving Tuesday, the movement dedicated to giving back that happens

every year right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Pacifica’s Giving Tuesday page is dedicated to raising

funds for our exercise programs. If you would like to support Pacifica and donate specifically to our

exercise programs, this is a great way to give. (You don’t have to wait until Giving Tuesday to make a

donation.) Please forward our Giving Tuesday link to anyone you know who might like to make a

difference in so many lives.

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All these sites also allow payment via credit cards and donations over $10 receive a tax receipt from the

organization you donate through.

We are so grateful to everyone who makes a donation—large or small—to Pacifica. Every dollar counts

and we appreciate your generosity.

Major donors: July to September

Special thanks to BC Housing, BMO, Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan, Hastings Racecourse,

Heritage Office Furnishings, James B. Myers Law Corporation, Safeway, UBC Kinesiology, and

WorkSafeBC for their generous donations over the past quarter.

From left: Pacifica CEO Alison Silgardo, Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan Executive Director Vicky Waldron, and our VCH

liaison, Mary Marlow, next to a Race for Recovery fun run sign.

We love in-kind donations too!

It’s time for us to start thinking about our Christmas hampers. Every year we provide clients with presents of gloves, toques, recovery books, and gift cards. If you would like to help out in this special way, please contact CEO Alison Silgardo or go online to donate.

Recent events

Client and Alumni outings

Pacifica clients and alumni enjoyed a summer filled with great activities including disc golf, bike rides to

the Vancouver Aquarium and Kits Beach, and a hike in Lynn Canyon.

Recovery Day BC 2018

Pacifica was delighted to participate in this important annual event that celebrates overcoming

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addiction on September 8 in New Westminster. Recovery Day is part music festival, part carnival and

part educational event.

Above: Shawn Currell hosted Pacifica’s booth at Recovery Day and enlisted the help of a dedicated group of volunteers.

Above: CEO Alison Silgardo with guests to the Pacifica booth at Recovery Day in New Westminster.

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Coming events

MEC Trail Race Six - Belcarra: October 6

Pacifica has a team registered for this 5 and 10K race around Sasamat Lake and the Sugar Mountain

Trail. If you would like to participate, contact our new activity coordinator, Brian Kellett.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Clients get in on the Halloween spirit by creating spooky pumpkin masterpieces to decorate our

courtyard.

Santa Shuffle: December 1

Pacifica has a team registered for this 5K fun run and 1K elf walk that benefits The Salvation Army. If you

would like to participate, contact our new activity coordinator, Brian Kellett.

Pacifica Treatment Centre Society’s mission is to promote health and recovery from addiction through

treatment, education and support that strengthens individuals, families and communities.

As a non-profit organization, we rely on our funders and donors for their generous support. If you would like to make a donation to Pacifica, please visit our website.