Navigating the complex treatment system for addictions can be a daunting task, even for those skilled in navigating bureaucracy.
Despite being a longtime foster parent, with years of experience in social services, MLA Carole James found the addictions system overwhelming when trying to help her son, Evan.
She sought support from the Umbrella Society, a small Victoria-based organization that guides people with drug and alcohol addictions through the maze of clinical and community supports.
"Out of all the places, it's the place for me that was consistent, it was always there," James said of Umbrella.
"They help guide people through the difficulty of finding services and supports, like what do you do when a bed's not there?"
Executive director Gordon Harper, who founded the agency more than 10 year ago after his own addiction battle, said there are more treatment options available now than ever before.
"You've got about 70 or 80 resources and you don't even know where to start," he said.
Umbrella workers get to know a person's needs through casual conversations, finding the right moment and service when - and if - someone wants it, said Harper.
"Recovery takes a while, it's not something you can do in 30 days," he said.
"It's not like having an infection and going to get antibiotics and you are fixed."
In the case of Evan James, Harper took him out for coffees and kept in touch over a number of years to check in on how he was doing, said Carole.
"I credit Umbrella with helping to save his life, along with the rest of his support group, because Gordon Harper was just there for him, Gordon wouldn't let him go," said Carole.
The society runs on a shoestring budget of $300,000, and gets 72 per cent of its referrals directly from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, along with a small amount of funding. Last year, Umbrella workers met with 760 people seeking help, as well as 89 family members.
It's a "powerful model" and an example of how you don't need to reinvent the wheel within the addictions system when small organizations have already figured out how to do good work, said James.
Harper said his organization could easily expand to communities such as Nanaimo, if it had the funding. He also said he could use more resources to follow up with hard-tolocate clients.
Umbrella accepts public donations. - Rob Shaw
The Umbrella Society for Addictions and Mental Health, 901 Kings Rd., Victoria, 250-380-0595. www.umbrellasociety.ca
