Delta’s Little House Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Society is merging with the Surrey-based Phoenix Drug & Alcohol Recovery and Education Society.
The merger came about after a joint recognition that the organizations’ values aligned, and that together they could provide enhanced support to more individuals and families struggling with substance use.
“This all came together in a really organic way,” Phoenix Society CEO Keir Macdonald said in a press release.
Phoenix Society had been working with Little House over the past two years to help strengthen its bed-based substance use programs in two keys areas: family services and continuing care.
“Little House had some really amazing programs and it just made sense for us to partner rather than re-create something and things just grew from there,” Macdonald said.
Little House Society has been a welcoming space for group recovery meetings for more than 30 years and offers a variety of community-based supports including individual therapy, family supports, boundaries workshops, group meetings, and an ongoing self-management and recovery training (SMART) group utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy.
The organization operates out of an 1,800 square foot, fully accessible house in Tsawwassen that includes a comfortable counselling office and two meeting rooms that accommodate recovery group meetings, workshops and educational sessions.
Two years ago, Little House began running a family program for loved ones of those in Phoenix Society’s residential treatment programs, offering a four-hour education workshop.
“Our organizations have such common values and interests and that was apparent early on for me. This merger is a perfect fit — a match made in heaven,” Little House COO and registered therapeutic counsellor Debbi McKenzie said in a press release.
“My passion and my dream has always been to work at a treatment centre and bring family programs in. That’s what’s so wonderful about this fit; Phoenix’s values align so well,” McKenzie added. “We hope to have a wider reach and connect with more people in the community as a result of the merger with Phoenix Society. Right now, we’re literally just a ‘little house.'”
McKenzie noted that for every person struggling with their substance use, 10 to 20 people around them are impacted.
“We know that if someone goes to treatment but returns to a family that has not done their healing, there is a 40 per cent chance of relapsing. Together, we can support more families to learn how to support their loved one in recovery. Too many families are suffering in silence right now.”
Since forming in 1989, Phoenix Society has grown from an idea to a multi-faceted integrated service provider that offers a variety of programs and support services, helping residents and program participants achieve positive outcomes in their lives.
A key purpose of the society is to provide housing and support services for people at multiple entry points on the continuum. Phoenix Society develops community-based projects that meet people where they are at, helping participants exit the cycle of addiction and homelessness.
Visit phoenixsociety.com and littlehousesociety.ca to learn more about the respective organizations.
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