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Winds of Change still blowing

Healthy community strategy moving towards addressing the need for substance abuse treatment

By Cindy Filipenko

It’s a beautiful, sunny, Pemberton summer morning. Walking out of the post office, I run into an acquaintance I haven’t seen in months. Standing at the corner next to the Esso station, we catch up in the shorthand common to such relationships. Within a few minutes, we’ve covered the essential territory: work, kids, partners, summer plans and the quest for more downtime.

“You look great!” I say with all sincerity, because she does. There’s an energy and a freshness to her that I have never noticed before.

“I’ve been on the sobriety train since January,” she says, matter-of-factly. “And I’ve lost 20 pounds.”

Two women, who marginally know each other, candidly discussing an issue long kept in the dark, literally in the light of day. Maybe the winds of change really are blowing.

 

The effects of substance abuse extend far beyond the user. Families, sometimes generations of families, can be affected by having to cope with an alcoholic or drug addict. In the ’80s, this was well documented through the literature of the ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) movement. People raised by them share a distinct set of traits, from having to “guess” at what normal behaviour is to being extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that loyalty is underserved. These people have an increased likelihood of either becoming substance abusers or partnering with them — in some cases, they do both.

Failing that, these people may adopt other compulsive behaviours, such as food or work addiction. More importantly, adult children of addicts tend towards insecure relationships because they parallel their childhood relationship with their alcoholic or dysfunctional parents. Thus, the chaos addicts create impacts another generation.

While an addict’s family may most keenly feel the effect of the individual addict, communities also feel the effects. These run the gamut, from teachers having to deal with young children whose academic/social performance in school may be impaired by living in an unpredictable, unstable environment to tragedies of far greater magnitude. A horrible, heartbreaking event brought the issue of substance abuse in the Pemberton Valley to the forefront of community concern in May 2002.

Ross Leo was just 15 years old when he died. The Mt. Currie youth was brutally beaten to death by two adult men in an altercation over alcohol. The teenager had come across two men “sleeping it off” in a wooded area of BC Rail lands near the local elementary school. Nicknamed “The Jungle”, the densely treed area was a well-known drinking spot among alcoholics who went there to consume the alcohol they bought a few blocks away at the government liquor store.

The men awoke when Leo was trying to steal their alcohol. A fight ensued that left the boy dead. Both Pemberton and Mt. Currie residents were stunned by the shocking murder.

Making matters even sadder was the fact Leo and his two assailants were from the 1,800-person First Nations community. While the Leo family had lost a brother, nephew, son and grandson, all three families had been severely damaged — and being a small town everyone knew someone involved in the tragedy.

That is one of the downsides of living in a small town; it is often impossible to escape the pain. On the upside, it is often easier to mobilize people in a small town. And that’s what the communities of Mt. Currie and Pemberton did in the wake of the tragedy, bringing the issue of substance abuse to public discussion.

Understanding a problem and coming to possible solutions is dependent on open discourse. Pemberton’s Healthy Communities committee held a number of public forums to address and assess community concerns that Leo’s death brought to the forefront. From those meetings the joint Pemberton-Mt. Currie Drug and Alcohol Task Force was created. The 12-member task force consisted of the elected representatives from the Village of Pemberton and Mt, Currie Band Council and their respective administrators, the Mt. Currie and Pemberton health centres, Pemberton RCMP and Stl’Atl’Imx Tribal Police. The task force met twice monthly to explore the issues, solutions and funding possibilities. Given the fact that two communities, one predominantly white and one First Nation, were working together to examine the problems related to substance abuse, federal money came quickly. The group received a $20,000 grant from the National Crime Prevention Centre.

The task force hired Brandon Hestdalen, who had worked as a counsellor with the Xit’oclaw Community School and Sea to Sky Community Services, to gather data and develop a strategy for dealing with substance abuse issues in both communities. The document he produced, the result of nearly a year-and-a-half of research, was published in November 2004 as The Winds of Change: A Healing Vision. The 14-strategy report featured 13 recommendations designed to improve the health of both communities.

Former Pemberton mayor Elinor Warner was one of the co-chairs of the task force. At the report’s launch, Warner admitted that the report had taken longer to prepare than anticipated, citing the mutual learning that had to take place.

“We had to learn to trust each other. As communities our people were going to have to come together to tackle this problem,” said then mayor, Warner. “I think this report is better because we took the time to get to know each other and each other’s culture.”

Nearly two years later, Warner and her co-chair Joanne John, a councillor with the Mt. Currie Band, are still addressing the issue of cultural differences in reference to developing drug and alcohol strategies.

“We’re speaking in Lillooet on Oct. 10 with the First Nations and Area D, to let them know about our experience. What we did, what we could have done better,” says Warner.

Warner, who has been an advocate for youth, sees the establishment of a joint Mt. Currie-Pemberton Youth Council as being one of the most positive changes the Winds of Change have brought about.

“The Youth Council will be meeting with Mt. Currie and Pemberton councils two or three times. I think that’s really positive because you’ve got to talk to youth and youth have to be able to talk to people in power,” says Warner. “They can probably tell more than anyone what’s happening out in the streets.”

As for some of the other initiatives undertaken by the Winds of Change project, Warner isn’t sure that they meet the task force’s original mandate.

“Joanne (John) and I spoke at a seniors’ luncheon. Did that address drug and alcohol abuse? I don’t think so,” says Warner.

However, she concedes that the event definitely got people together and talking, some of the important bridge building that both communities had to initially do in the aftermath of Leo’s death.

 

It starts with understanding

As outlined in the Winds of Change report, the task force adopted a comprehensive approach to dealing with the associated problems of substance abuse by endeavouring to understand the community and its socio-economic factors, committing to strategy development, acting on strategies and implementing an evaluation process to establish the value of various strategies.

Theses strategies were to be developed based on the criteria outlined in the report, which calls on both communities and associated governments to promote healthy lifestyle choices, increase awareness, improve services and promote community leadership and responsibility.

Warner’s co-chair, Joanne John, believes the report is meeting its mandate and has now taken on a life of its own. The potential effects of the Winds of Change are something John sees in both her life and her work. A Mt. Currie Band council member at the time the report was undertaken, John now is the Director of Community Advancement at the Ts’Zil Learning Centre.

John has warm memories of putting the report together.

“I enjoyed being able to contribute to make a difference, to let people know there was someone who cared enough to takes risks. Someone who cared enough to say, ‘Let’s get real.’

“We got to work with Pemberton, putting our historical differences aside to work on something we had in common. We removed the judgment —ignorant preconceptions — and worked together.

“I believe the Winds of Change is evolving from the work of people who want to be champions in the community. It’s taken on a life of its own,” says John.

The ripple effect of the report can be felt in John’s current workplace.

“All I can say is in the department we’ve incorporated personal growth and it’s taking everyone to a (new) level. Leading by example is the only thing that will work. There are 18 frontline workers in my department and we can show people healthier alternatives.”

Some of those healthier alternatives will start with drug and alcohol education in the elementary grades and early career planning in hopes of making Social Assistance the last resort instead of the first choice.

John, who has been sober for five years, lives her beliefs. Today, both of her daughters are sober as well. Staying sober hasn’t been easy.

“There’s a lack of support mechanisms in our community. There are safe places like hand-drumming and community gatherings. But unless someone steps up to the plate to run an AA, Al-Anon, NA or CODA meeting, it doesn’t happen,” says John. “We don’t have a safe place to go.

“It’s time we came out of the closet and quit being in denial.”

John believes one of the most effective ways to break down the closet door would have youth and elder outreach workers in both communities, to stay in touch with these two vital demographic groups.

 

Events bring people together

July’s Elders Conference brought seniors from both communities together to talk about a time when the Pemberton Valley was really one community. The event received tremendous support from both the elder population and community at large. For example, Across the Creek Organics donated salad fixings that were prepared by a group of women in Mt. Currie. The Pemberton Library loaned out a number of archival photos that complemented pieces from the Lil’wat7ul Lil’wat Cultural Centre collection. At mixed tables elders reminisced about a time when the communities depended on each other for commerce, recreation and socializiation. The event showed organizers Carrie Terchinetz and Lucinda Phillips what was possible.

Terchinetz and Phillips are two of the six members of the current Winds of Change steering committee. They are also paid employees vested with the challenge of creating a number of community events to bring both Mt. Currie and Pemberton together. Both women have been active in their respective communities.

Phillips has been long involved in recreation and is a member of the Mt. Currie Band council. Terchinetz is a paramedic with B.C. Ambulance and for the past two years has organized the Lillooet Lake Christmas Toy Drive.

The two women were hired earlier this year when the Winds of Change received a $30,000 grant to begin implementing the report’s recommendations. Both women have found the opportunity rewarding, professionally and personally.

“I’ve learned that I can take on things that I never thought I could,” says Terchinetz.

Phillips echoes this sentiment. “We’ve met a lot of challenges.”

The main challenge the two faced was how to take recommendations outlined in the report and make them into interesting events that would bring both communities together. So far, they have succeeded. Having targeted both the general community and the elders, the next event the two women are producing is an October film night for youth around the issue of substance abuse. The evening will also feature speakers and be open to youth throughout the valley.

“Drugs are being used in the bathrooms at the high school,” says Terchinetz. “I have kids tell me this. It’s a problem. I think our programming can have a positive impact on youth.”

But there’s something aside from the professional rewards the project has given the two women.

“We’ve had a great time working together, I’ve learned more (from) this project than I did as a council member and I’ve made a friend,” Phillips says of Terchinetz.

 

Working side by side

The value of personal connections the people engaged in the Winds of Change have made cannot be underestimated. Village of Pemberton councillor Jennie Helmer goes to a lot of meetings, it’s part of her job and her commitment to larger community politics. For Helmer, one of the best offshoots of the Winds of Change is the quarterly joint Village of Pemberton-Mt. Currie Band council meeting. She recently attended her first meeting.

“Hands down it was the best meeting I have ever attended. It was amazing. We all sat at one huge table. It was friendly. Casual. We had a loose agenda. We broke off into small groups to discuss issues and we came back and shared them. We had a lot of common issues.

“I walked away from there feeling a sense of accomplishment. We had targeted common issues and concerns and things we were proud of, we discussed how to maintain that or make it better.”

Helmer believes that positive change has been ongoing for both communities since the Winds of Change was published nearly two years ago.

“I think quite a bit has happened and there’s been a lot more discussion of what should happen at a council, staff and community level,” says the first-term councillor. “I think we’re becoming a stronger community. Together we have more resources and insights.”

She believes that the rolling out of the project, which began with a community-wide softball game, has made sense.

“It’s all about communication and collaboration and the logical place for that was recreation. Although it sort of seems very non-substance abuse oriented, it’s a way to bring people together is a non-drinking environment.

“When you’re playing sports together, fighting floods together, you start to care about each other. We can fight for each other’s causes and they became our causes.”

Helmer sees bringing people together as an important first step in reaching one of the long-term goals: a treatment centre.

“There’s no centre now. For the most part, people are ending up in the city. If we can keep it at a local level I am confident we can better address their needs and keep them closer to their families and homes.”

Helmer credits much of the success of the Winds of Change project with the ongoing work of both communities’ administrators.

“Lori (Pilon) and Sheldon (Tetreault) are working hard to make the idea of a treatment centre more tangible. What do we need to make it happen? Hopefully, in the early new year the ideas will be more concrete.”

 

Broadening membership

Lori Pilon, chief administrative officer for the Village of Pemberton, is adamant that whatever form any treatment service or centre takes will come from community input, not government.

“We have an upcoming meeting with Coastal Health, the RCMP, Pemberton, Mt. Currie — all of the major stakeholders — to explore existing services and see what we can do to enhance them,” explains Pilon.

“What we think, or hope, will come of that is the recognition of the need for some treatment service/facility. That could be anything from Rediscovery to bricks and mortars.”

Pilon explains that Rediscovery is a First Nations model that’s been in use since the ’70s and works for both youth and adults by offering cultural reconnection.

“For example, Rediscovery could be a cultural camp where youth go up in the mountains and elders teach hunting/fishing and cultural values. It could look like whatever our community wanted. The idea is to get people away from the urban world, away from TV and other media, take them up the mountain to experience nature and examine values.

“One part of Rediscovery is to stay up the mountain for a whole day with nothing but yourself — to essentially rediscover yourself.”

Pilon is quick to point out that this is just one possibility that may be entertained.

“Sheldon and I are working on a proposal for another grant. I don’t want to get ahead of the process, but we’re thinking that it will probably be more focused on a treatment centre. But we’ll know more once we meet with the stakeholders on Sept. 26, if (a treatment service/facility) is not mentioned then it will be off the table.”

Just as existing service providers will have their opportunity for input into the next step for the Winds of Change, so will the public.

“I want to be careful not to impose what we think is important. It’s critical that the public have input. Our committee is relatively small, everyone is so busy, we want to make it more sustainable by broadening the membership on it.”

While Pilon contemplates the possibilities of all the options, one thing remains clear, she is a strong and determined proponent of the Winds of Change.

“The document is hugely progressive and a model for the whole province.”

 

More support needed

Sheldon Tetreault began his involvement with the Winds of Change while serving as senior administrator for the Mt. Currie Band. He recently moved to a provincial leadership position with the newly formed Centre for First Nations Governance but is continuing his work with the project. While he believes there is room for improvement, he is impressed with the level of success the Winds of Change has experienced.

“The fact that the report got done is a success, because it was the first time the two communities had ever worked together on such a complex issue.

“We’ve had two crystal meth forums, a community-to-community forum on recreation, we’ve had two fun days, an elders forum, we’ve financially supported cultural awareness programs in the schools and we’re collaborating on youth forums in the fall. I look back to the municipal elections and the Winds of Change report was held up and cited during the campaigning, I think that is an indication of the report’s success,” says Tetreault.

One area of improvement he would like to see is increased awareness of what is being accomplished through the program.

“A number of positive initiatives have happened over the past two years and it’s not (generally) known that it’s a Winds of Change event or that it came about as a result of the report. We also need to do a better job of giving opportunities for the community and families to get involved.”

He believes the key to increased involvement is to show people that even a small amount of time they can contribute can help make events stronger.

The other change Tetreault would like to see has to do with stakeholder engagement. For the Winds of Change recommendations to be as broad reaching as possible, support needs to be forthcoming from other groups serving the community.

“So far this has been really driven by both councils, in Pemberton and Mt. Currie. But the problem is that we need more of the different stakeholders in both communities actively engaged to have a meaningful commitment to the committee’s survival. We need the Tribal (Police) back engaged, the RCMP, the Pemberton and Mt. Currie health centres engaged. We need anyone touched by this issue engaged in helping find solutions, we need them recommitted and back at the table to execute the vision in the document.”

While some stakeholders can just show up at the table, Tetreault would like to see others bring their cheque books.

“I feel really disappointed by the regional funders. We need them to step up and let us know how they can support this work. We have never been supported by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority or Sea to Sky Community Services. These are big regional organizations that provide service and have the funding and here is a community initiative that sprang up independent of them that has community support.

“Maybe we need to find a better way of pulling them in. But I find it upsetting that you have a community-supported initiative like this and they are nowhere to be seen in it.”

Tetreault worries that as time passes the issues become less urgent and people become more complacent. He notes that the complexities of substance abuse make it a long-term ongoing project and keeping the issue current is difficult.

In the beginning, the project’s emphasis was on building social, political relationships and he sees that as essential groundwork. However, the former Mt. Currie administrator thinks its time to move more towards making it easier for communities to make healthier choices. He points out that outside sobering up in a jail cell there is nothing for people who are in need of detox or treatment.

Asked if he thinks the communities are healthier because of The Winds of Change, Tetreault pauses before giving a thoughtful, cautious response.

“It’s a long way from particular actions to outcomes like healthy communities. I think we’re taking steps in the right direction and those are small, incremental steps. The reality is that there are things happening every week in our community’ we’re not that far away from another tragedy.”



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