Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
RENFREW – The theme for the fifth annual Recovery Day in Renfrew County was youth prevention and support. The event took place at the myFM Centre in Renfrew on Sept. 19.
Mayor Tom Sidney opened the day by proclaiming Sept. 19 as Recovery Day in the Town of Renfrew. He spoke about his mother, who is celebrating 33 years of sobriety in December and the importance of trying to ensure youth get the information and support they need so they don’t get into substance use to begin with and the importance of support and help if they do. He also spoke about the need to eliminate the stigma associated with substance use and maintaining access to health care is vital.
“We support recovery in all its forms,” the mayor said.
“Having grown up in the Ottawa Valley,” said Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP Billy Denault, “I know firsthand that the struggles are real, that they affect our young people. But with days like today, it is our hope to break through those long, existing barriers,” to ensure anyone dealing with substance use has access to the care and support they need.
The room was full at the event opening, mainly with students from local schools.
Kim MacLeod, co-chair of the Recovery Day committee, service director at Addictions Treatment Services and lead for the Renfrew County Youth Wellness Hub said the committee, “wanted to highlight the accessibility of the Renfrew County Youth Wellness Hub and other complementary services for young people in the region.
“We want to intervene early so that these young people are not carrying these troubles the remainder of their lives.
“The purpose of Recovery Day is to break down stigma and make it okay to reach out and ask for help when they need it.” To see asking for help as a sign of strength, not weakness.
The other committee co-chair, Liana Sullivan said the first Recovery Day event happened as part of an open house at MacKay Manor and has grown from there. “We started our very first Recovery Day, we had, I think, six tables. We have 28 today.”
Several addiction and recovery services groups had tables as well as the Renfrew County Paramedic Service, OPP, Renfrew County Women’s Sexual Assault Centre and Addiction and Treatment Services. Representatives from the county Mesa program were also on hand.
Amanda Kuipers is a Mesa care co-ordinator at MacKay Manor. She told the audience about a mother who spoke at Recovery Day in 2024 and lost her child to opioid poisoning. Kuipers noted that losing someone to overdose can be sudden and unexpected. She realized there was no way for families to memorialize their loved ones and developed a virtual tree of wooden discs. Family and friends can put a name or a message on a disk which is then attached to a large board with a painting of a tree. “My hope is that we can create a couple of these and have them in different places,” around the county. She also hopes the project can help overcome some of the stigma associated with substance addiction.
Kuipers has worked in addiction and recovery services for eight years and has had many people come to her office who she will never see again because they have died.
“There’s a lot of stigma in mental health to begin with. There’s more for substance use,” she stated.
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
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