Lakeview Recovery Community: A Year in Review

Jessica Cooksey, Lyndsey Hague, Ruben Buck Breaker

Panel 8 – Keynote Panel  – Alberta’s Recovery Communities, what are they?

September 25th Day Three – Exhibition Hall North Building 9:00 am to 10:30 am

Lakeview Recovery Community: A Year in Review

Ruben Buck Breaker

Session Description

Lakeview Recovery Community represents a new generation of publicly funded Recovery Communities in Canada. Purpose-built to blend evidence-based practices, lived experience leadership, and community-rooted values. Since opening in July 2024, Lakeview has become a model for how Recovery Communities can serve as both healing environments and innovation hubs for system transformation.

This session will provide a candid review of Lakeview’s first year of operations, exploring its development into a “teaching facility” model in partnership with the Recovery Training Institute of Alberta (RTIA). Together, Lakeview and RTIA have created a learning campus where recovery-oriented care is taught, practiced, and continuously refined. The site now hosts provincial workshops, practicum students, peer workforce trainees, and system leaders, positioning Lakeview not just as a care provider, but as an incubator for recovery system design.

Core components of Lakeview’s model include:

  • A phased admissions approach to stabilize program culture and clinical excellence
  • Real-time measurement of recovery capital and outcome-focused care planning
  • A Work-As-Therapy model embedded through the Purposeful Pathways Program, which offers skills and vocational training
  • Development of social enterprises to support resident reintegration while building financial sustainability
  • A strong emphasis on lived experience leadership across staffing, programming, and governance
  • Ongoing preparation for full Accreditation Canada designation through structured quality cycles

Learning Objectives

  • Attendees will gain insights into what it takes to operationalize a Recovery Community from the ground up—from staffing and culture-building to performance measurement, workforce development, and community partnerships. Lakeview’s experience offers a valuable blueprint for jurisdictions seeking to expand recovery capital and scale sustainable, community-based responses to addiction and mental health challenges.

Bio

Lyndsey Hague is currently the Executive Director of Lakeview Recovery Community and Co-Director of the Recovery Training Institute of Alberta (RTIA). She moved to Canada in 2023 specifically to support the development and implementation of Lakeview Recovery Community and to assist in training the Albertan addiction recovery workforce. Lyndsey spent the previous 17 years with Phoenix Futures, the UK’s leading rehabilitation provider where her roles included Head of Operations for Scotland, Assistant Director of Operations across the UK and Therapeutic Community Specialist. She had oversight over a range of community, prison, housing and residential rehabilitation services including Therapeutic Communities for the adult population and specialist provision for families and women. As a sector leader and TC Specialist, Lyndsey also Vice-Chairs The Scottish Governments Residential Rehabilitation Working Group, to support the ongoing development of residential treatment in Scotland and is an active member of the World and European Federations for Therapeutic Communities.

Other Panel Members

Join us for the Alberta Recovery Summit, hosted by the 9th Annual Recovery Capital Conference taking place on September 23rd, 24th, and 25th, 2025.

 Session Streams

  • Health Care and Recovery
  • Indigenous Health
  • Occupational Health and Safety

 Key Details

  • DAY ONE September 23rd – 5:30 pm 6:30: Early Badge Pick Up and Networking Reception, 6:30 pm to 8 pm Pre Conference Presentation
  • DAY TWO September 24th – 8:45 am to 5 pm : Keynote Speakers and Breakout Sessions
  • DAY THREE September 25th – 9 am to 5 pm: Keynote Speakers and Breakout Sessions

 Hotels

Book your hotel at one of our host hotels and save money. Click on the links for the discount rates and book early as rates will go up, and they always sell out.

Schedule

Speakers

Registration

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