Addiction Services workers help clients find their way forward
The Addiction Services space on the second floor of Mission Services’ Wentworth location means many different things to many different people. For some, it is a lighthouse, illuminating their path back from a dark place. For others, it is a brotherhood, a place where they find strength and encouragement from their fellow classmates. Others consider it a refuge, a place of safety and protection from harmful influences. The one thing that everyone can agree on, though, is that the caring and compassionate staff make it special.
“I tell that to new staff all the time,” said Greg, Assistant Director of Addiction Services. “This isn’t just another job, you have to be passionate about helping people change their lives.”
Each year, the lives of over 1,500 clients are touched through the addiction programs at Mission Services.
“Some people are trying to restore relationships with their families, others are trying to remain in or find housing. We work with them to come up with a plan to manage the behaviors that are creating the problem in the first place.”
Mission Services offers several different types of addiction programs, meeting clients where they are at and helping them reach the goals that they are ready for. Along the journey, staff are there to support them and guide them each step of the way.
“Our staff have an understanding of treatment and stages of change,” Greg added. “We work with the clients to find out what goals are important to them, and what we can do to help them achieve that goal.”
While staff assist on their journey, Greg made sure to stress the clients’ hard work should never be overlooked, as their success would never be possible without it.
“We provide the program, the information, and the encouragement, which are all important, but you apply that information and those techniques and the plans to your everyday life, and that’s how you are successful.”
“I had a client one time, who at his graduation from the program introduced me to his daughter, and she greeted me by saying, ‘Thank you for giving us our father back,’” Greg said. “I was taken a little aback, but explained to her that although we helped him along the way, her father had put in the hard work and made the changes to his life so that he could restore his relationship with his kids.”
Seeing relationships restored, goals reached, and people finding their way forward is the ultimate measure of success for addictions workers.
“When you see the impact you’ve made in the people you’ve invested in, that’s when you know that you’re truly where you’re meant to be.”