Speaker Name: Earl Thiessen
Session Description:
Oxford House Foundation of Canada provides Pre-Treatment Housing, Peer/Culturally Supportive Indigenous Recovery Homes and Long-Term Peer-Supported Transitional Homes.
Context:
The devastation of childhood trauma is a main factor in why many turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of dealing with their emotions to cope.
As an Indigenous leader in Alberta, when it comes to recovery, recovery housing and supporting our continuum of care, I see firsthand the damages of Opioid abuse. In fact, I am raising my sister-in-law’s daughter due to her mom’s passing from an overdose.
Decriminalization and “safe supply” are not the path forward. They make problems worse. Prolong trauma and can keep a person in a perpetual state of drug abuse.
The path forward is recovery-focused. We need detox, treatment, and recovery. To accomplish long-term recovery, people need all these, starting with detox and treatment. Then, they need peer support, employment, recovery-focused housing,
There is only one sure way, 100% to avoid overdose, and that is abstinence. That said, I fully understand that there is a process to follow to get to this point. Saying that one must understand that “want” and “need” are light years apart. Every person who has an addiction “needs” to seek help, but it is those who “want” to seek help that actually can and do recover. For those who do not want to recover, all we can do is provide positive reinforcement and show them, through lived experience and success stories, that recovery is possible and that they can find it and pray for their lives. This is all we could do for my sister-in-law. She lost her life because she did not want to face her traumas.
One of the biggest areas of focus needs to be medical detoxification. This service is lacking and is the first step when a person decides to seek help. After detoxification, a person needs immediate support to enter residential treatment if that is the route they choose. Most treatment centers have a process that can take some time or have a waitlist. This is where Pre-Treatment Housing comes in, a housing model created through my lived experience. A supportive environment with professional and peer guidance until entry into residential treatment.
A place where the bio-psycho-social and spiritual aspects of healing can begin.
A place where their voices start the healing process. A place where Opioid agonist therapy can begin if needed.
We have the only licensed and accredited sole Pre-Treatment Housing model in North America.
PRE-TREATMENT HOUSING
The Pre-Treatment Housing Program was developed to address the gap between men and women who are concerned about their continued sobriety between detox and treatment.
Oxford House Foundation knows that it is crucial to have a stable continuum from the moment an individual decides to become sober, through treatment, and afterward, with all safeguards in place.
The period for people waiting to get into treatment is one of the most stressful periods for a person deciding to start their recovery journey. One of the main concerns today is the crisis we are facing with opioid addiction and the need to get people the help they are seeking quickly, safely and in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Our Pre-Treatment Recovery Housing Program targets the period during which an individual must wait before being accepted into treatment.
These homes have a live-in house lead who helps guide residents toward their treatment goals. They help keep them motivated to enter residential treatment. They also help guide them with basic life skills and provide direction when members attend their recovery-based meetings.
Learning Objectives:
Peer-Supported Recovery Housing and Understanding the Pre-Treatment Concept
Bio
Since 2009, Earl Thiessen has held various positions at Oxford House Foundation of Canada, ultimately stepping into the role of Executive Director on July 1, 2019.
He is widely recognized for developing numerous recovery housing models for Oxford House, including pre-treatment housing, entry-level housing, and the peer/culturally supported Indigenous recovery housing model.
His journey from homelessness to Executive Director underscores his strong advocacy for recovery, homelessness issues, and the peer-supported recovery housing model.
Earl’s contributions have been recognized nationally and provincially. He was honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal by Her Honour, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani, for pioneering recovery housing concepts across Canada and bringing innovative solutions to Alberta and First Nations communities. Additionally, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal from Premier Jason Kenney for his outstanding dedication to the mental health and addictions sector, symbolizing his remarkable journey from homelessness to Executive Director. He also received the Recovery Systems Leader Award from the Government of Alberta’s Mental Health and Addiction Ministry for creating the Pre-Treatment Housing Model, the first of its kind to be licensed and accredited in North America.