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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nRay Ducharme says his recovery has given him purpose.<\/p>\n
Three days later, in early November, Ducharme woke up in a Winnipeg hospital with his family around him. Doctors weren\u2019t sure he\u2019d survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod had a different plan for me,\u201d he said Friday while travelling back to Winnipeg from Brandon. \u201cTo this day, I don\u2019t know how I got to the hospital from the hotel. Eight days later, I walked into ATCCC.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more than 20 years, beginning as a teenager, Ducharme abused alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, crack, meth and prescription medications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drugs got harder, the drinking got harder, until it finally just took over, and being sober was a weird feeling, and being high and drunk was just normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Today, more than nine months after graduating from ATCCC\u2019s 12-month live-in recovery program, Ducharme is working with people in the same situation he once found himself in.<\/p>\n
He says his recovery has given him purpose.<\/p>\n
Sunday marked Recovery Day Winnipeg and Monday is International Overdose Awareness Day. On Sept. 12, ATCCC will also celebrate the grand opening of its community services office at 1020 Main St., part of an effort to expand access to addiction support and meet growing demand for recovery services across central Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Recovery Day Winnipeg and International Overdose Awareness Day remind us that behind every statistic are families and communities affected by addiction,\u201d ATCCC CEO Daniel Emond said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Recovery Day Winnipeg and International Overdose Awareness Day remind us that behind every statistic are families and communities affected by addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur new community services office will help us connect people with support earlier and provide clearer pathways to long-term recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, the faith-based organization recorded more than 6,500 calls for service and helped 156 people transition out of homelessness. It completed 1,474 behavioural health assessments and welcomed 219 people into its 12-month live-in recovery program.<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg location joins community offices in Brandon, Flin Flon, Steinbach, Swan River and Winkler.<\/p>\n
The offices serve as an initial point of contact for people seeking help and provide space for clinical and pastoral counselling, family supports and outpatient small-group programs.<\/p>\n
Peter McMullen, director of Lighthouse Mission and a graduate of both ATCCC\u2019s live-in recovery program and its 18-month SURGE leadership training program, said the organization changed his life.<\/p>\n
McMullen said he went from working as a financial adviser and having a family to living on the street after losing everything, eventually attempting suicide.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s miraculous what\u2019s happened in my life,\u201d McMullen said.<\/p>\n
He said the new community office gives people struggling with addiction a first point of connection \u201cwhen they really don\u2019t know where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the programs offered is Ready Now Recovery, an outpatient program designed to engage people who may not yet be ready to enter an intensive recovery program.<\/p>\n
It addresses addictions involving substances, gambling and pornography, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to start somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to start somewhere, and not everyone wants to go into an intensive program immediately,\u201d McMullen said. \u201c(With Ready Now Recovery), you can get together for an hour, once a week with a group of other individuals facilitated by a trained facilitator and begin your journey into recovery. So now, all of a sudden, I have a place where I can go, that there\u2019s not a huge commitment, but I can start exploring recovery. Then you start to connect with people who are equipped to help you through this journey in your life.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as they go through, maybe the Ready Now Recovery they see that this is something that is changing their life, and then they might either find a path to freedom from addiction through that outpatient program that they found at the community office, or they might say, \u2018You know what? This is opening up some doors and opening up my eyes and I think I need to go into that longer-term program.\u201d<\/p>\n
The community-office model is also intended to build support networks for graduates returning home after treatment, connecting them with counselling, group programs and other services intended to support long-term recovery.<\/p>\n
Ducharme knows how difficult those early stages can be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m training to be a leader, I actually work with the men now that are struggling like I was 21 months ago now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the first three months of his recovery were particularly hard. He wanted to leave the live-in program many times, but the people around him continually encouraged him to stay.<\/p>\n
ATCCC is faith-based and emphasizes relying on God as part of the recovery process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout God, I don\u2019t think I would have stayed and I really don\u2019t think I\u2019ve be alive talking to you today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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During the program, Ducharme said he eventually began confronting the past traumas underlying his addiction.<\/p>\n
In the months since graduating, he has taken another step, entering ATCCC\u2019s 18-month SURGE program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m training to be a leader, I actually work with the men now that are struggling like I was 21 months ago now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart is with them because I know what they\u2019re going through. I\u2019ve been there. Having that kind of person is really big for support.\u201d<\/p>\n
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Scott Billeck Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.\u00a0 Read more about Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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