After one year of assisting people to beat addiction, Residents in Recovery is struggling to expand.
Program Director Tyler Lorenz says the expansion of the non-profit which includes new sober living homes has been halted due to the lack of government funding. He says the difficulty finding grants comes down to the organization filling a gap in the community that’s never been funded before.
“The governments are focused on harm reduction and somewhat treatment, but not so much. We fall into this gap between detox and treatement where there are no funding models open to either government.”
Lorenz adds headway was made towards opening up a sober home in North Battleford that eventually fell through. The organization looks to continue focusing on securing funding in Lloydminster.
“[The Goverment] will focus on the detox part and send people to detox but they’re not looking at what happens after detox. Many individuals who go to detox end up going back to the same environment and are in the same situation within a couple of weeks.”
The organization’s progress has been supported through financial backers which includes the Lloydminster Regional Health Foundation.
An open house was held on September 4 to celebrate the non-profits one year anniversary. The organization invited members of the community to learn about the progress that’s been made and see what the organization has to offer.
Over the past year, the organization has supported the recovery journey of 156 people along with operating three sober living homes. Program director Tyler Lorenz says the majority of individuals who show up to the centre take part in daily programming, which is full every day.
“The 156 individuals is only scratching the surface, the impact we’ve had on extended families has been enormous. It affects hundreds of people in the community.”
Lorenz looks to continue growing the success of the organization over the next year. Currently, 20 people are living in sober homes with 30 individuals on the waiting list, 2 to 3 people are sent to detox a week, and 20 to 30 people participate in daily programming.