Blog

This year marks  the Lakeland Centre for FASD’s 20 year milestone , and in June, the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre celebrated its 8th birthday! The 2nd Floor is one of LCFASD’s prevention programs and was modelled after the Parent Child Assistance Program (PCAP). We heard from many women who were accessing PCAP that  the addiction treatment options available were not suited to their needs….they spoke, and we listened—and  our doors opened June 2012!

The 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre is a live-in addiction recovery program exclusively for self-identified women; priority is given to women who are pregnant, or at risk of getting pregnant. 2nd Floor focuses on supporting women with problematic substance use in order to help them develop healthy lifestyles and have healthy children in the future. We work to create individual recovery plans for every woman, taking account each woman’s unique circumstances, followed by an aftercare plan that builds a support network to assist her in her recovery journey. Our program focuses on life skills, trauma informed care, and harm reduction-based programming. We provide 1:1 and group addictions counselling and access to alternative therapies. Here is an example of what our programming can look like day-to-day:

Life skills focused: role modelling effective communication, cooperation with others, decision making, kitchen helper, personal hygiene for one’s self and their space, how to do laundry, parenting skills, budgeting, grocery shopping, wilderness survival skills etc…

Securing identifications & support “navigating the system”: Securing birth certif./Health Card/Status card, Neuropsychological assessments, Income Support & AISH, Court and/or Community Supervision, Children Family Services – understanding their orders, safety plans, arranging visits with their children and/or family

Holistic Health Overview: STI Testing, baseline physical health needs, allied health professionals (ex. sleep apnea diagnosis), eye & dental. Medication review, continued support or referrals to mental health professionals, culturally appropriate healing supports, Sessions with in-house Nurse (guided by client suggestions)

Cultural Connection: Smudging, attending ceremonies, cultural teachings and speaking traditional language with Elders, access to counselling from an Indigenous perspective, traditional parenting and grief & loss workshops. Clients can attend church as well.

Alternative Therapies: Drumming, yoga, massage therapy, equine assisted learning, art

Community Involvement: learning how to utilize one’s community in a healthy way, and building a sense of generosity by volunteering while in recovery (and securing volunteer opportunities when returning to their home community)

In our 8 years, we have been privileged to support women in navigating their recovery journey and feel honored that they have chosen 2nd Floor to continue their healing journey.