Program of Owen Sound-based centre helps raise awareness, reduce stigma
Article content
A new initiative has launched at Brightshores Health System’s wellness and recovery centre in Owen Sound where clients of the facility raise awareness, reduce stigma and give back through community action.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Called PROJECT 4 HOPE, the client-led elective program is offered to those in the 90-day and long-stay recovery programs at the centre, empowering them to lead, advocate and connect and contribute to the community while sharing personal experiences that help to increase awareness and understanding.
Article content
Recommended Videos
Article content
Earlier this month the patients held their first public event, a community cleanup day in the Owen Sound River District that brought visibility to their recovery and opened up conversations about addiction, mental health challenges and homelessness. The patients leveraged the city’s Community Clean-up Cart borrowing program for the event, it said in a news release.
“Recovery isn’t just about healing – it’s about reconnecting, giving back, and creating spaces for conversation,” one client organizer said in the release. “By sharing our stories, we hope to help others understand the challenges of mental health and addiction and build a sense of community around recovery.”
Advertisement 3
Article content
Brightshores opened its wellness and recovery centre last year in the former Bayview school on Owen Sound’s east side. The centre provides stable housing to individuals with complex needs while they receive treatment and begin the recovery journey, providing wraparound services all under one roof. The team at the centre provides short- and longer-term programming that includes crisis support, addictions treatment, daily drop-in clinics and much more.
Brightshores’ Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Naomi Vodden, expressed gratitude to the city for supporting the program participants and for providing supplies for the cleanup.
“One on five people will experience a mental health or addiction issue, and we are here to support individuals, families and communities across Grey Bruce,” Vodden said in the release.
Article content
