Attachment 4: Frequently Asked Questions – Our Place - Undated

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Who can become a Therapeutic Recovery Community (TRC) resident?

  • Our intention is to accept applicants who meet the following criteria:
    • Are experiencing homelessness
    • Have moderate to severe substance use disorder, and
    • Have medium to high interaction with the criminal justice system.

• How are TRC residents selected?

  • Applicants can be referred through three streams:
    • Directly by Corrections upon release from custody
    • Via Island Health detox and stabilization
    • The Court ordered pathway, through Victoria Integrated Court
  • Applicants go through an assessment process that identifies treatment readiness, commitment and willingness to participate fully in the program.

• What does it mean that the TRC program is voluntary, what happens if someone decides to quit / leave?

  • Applicants apply to the TRC on a fully voluntary basis and if attending through the courts the applicant must agree to attend the TRC. If someone decides to leave the program, TRC staff will relocate and transport them to a shelter option. If someone has a condition as a part of a court order the authorities will be notified and the police will attend and pick up the individual.

• What does a closed facility mean? Are residents not allowed to leave?

  • A closed facility means that residents only leave the program in the first 12 months when accompanied by staff or designate. The TRC staff will transport and attend appointments with residents.
  • Family visits will be facilitated on Saturdays and Sundays between 12:30 and 4:15. Guests will book visits and be required to remain in the visiting area. Residents in the Orientation Phase 1 cannot receive family visits.
  • When residents are in re-entry – phase 3 of treatment the outreach worker will be supporting residents with securing employment and housing in the larger community. At this stage of treatment residents are role models and getting ready to transition into the larger community, i.e., going to jobs or 12 step meetings.

• What does abstinence-based mean?

  • Abstinence based means no mood altering substances, residents are clean and sober and living in recovery. If residents are on opioid replacement therapy they take their medication as prescribed while they are stabilized. The goal will be for residents to work with the physician to develop a plan to taper off opioid replacement.
  • Community has many processes to address compliance including urinalysis.

• What are the different phases of the program?

Orientation Phase 1:

• Time for new residents to learn what it means to live in a TRC.
• Opportunity to engage new residents in community.
• Residents learn new ways of communicating, resolving conflict and “Right Living” principles.
• Residents participate in work as therapy, entry level positions within the community.

Primary Phase 2:

• Time for the resident to develop awareness about what needs to change.
• Opportunity for residents to learn new coping skills (i.e. emotions management, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness).
• Time for residents to practice new skills.
• Residents participate in Integrated Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress and Addiction.
• Residents participate in work as therapy and earn more advanced positions in community, mentor phase one residents etc.
• Residents earn greater privileges i.e., outings with staff, phone privileges etc.

Re-entry Phase 3:

• Time for residents to role model the skills and strategies of change.
• Time for residents to take a bigger role in the running of day to day activities of community.
• Residents mentor phase 1 & 2 residents.
• Time for residents to firm up their release and relapse prevention plans.
• Residents secure appropriate housing, employment and ongoing education and training in the larger community.

Aftercare Phase 4:

• Time for residents to transition into alumni and practice the skills that they have learned at TRC in the larger community.

• Alumni maintain appropriate housing, employment and ongoing education and training.

• Alumni give back to the TRC Community.

• Do TRC residents have cars?

  • Residents do not have cars. TRC staff transport residents to appointments, interview etc.

• What contact do residents have with friends and family and the outside world?

  • Residents have access to the telephone during the evening to stay in contact with family. Residents are not permitted to have cell phones or access to the internet. Family visits are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays between 12:30 and 4:15. In the later Primary Phase and Re-Entry Phase of Treatment resident’s families have access to family therapy.
  • Residents have opportunity to attend groups and activities with staff off site, i.e. Indigenous programming, lectures etc.

• How is the TRC funded?

  • The business model for the TRC is based on the principal of self-sufficiency and that residents participate free of charge.
  • The TRC will receive some government funding and some transitional government funding which will be reduced each year. Our Place Society has secured private funding donations and the Management is confident of the organization’s capacity to grow to be able to sustain operations past five years.
  • Operating costs will be reduced over time as residents develop social enterprise revenue. Plans for catering, baking, wood working and gardening will reduce costs over time as residents take over some operations functions i.e., growing food & maintenance.

• What does “community as method” means?

  • A community where the residents hold each other accountable and a place where they can feel safe to open up to each other and start dealing with their thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.
  • A safe environment where residents can give and receive feedback and apply it to their lives.
  • Each member is responsible for their own behaviours as well as being a role model for the rest of the community.
  • TRC members interact in structured and unstructured ways to influence attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors associated with drug use and criminal behaviors.

• What is different about the TRC compared to other treatment options available?

  • The TRC is a long term (12 to 24 months) recovery based treatment program rather than a short-term (6 to 8 weeks) acute care model.

• What is the staffing and treatment support provided at the TRC?

  • The staffing model is a multidisciplinary clinical team, including Addiction Psychiatrist, Addiction Physician, Psychologist, Clinical Counsellors, Nursing, Support Staff, and Aftercare Worker.

• Do residents have access to support after they have left the program?

  • Residents have comprehensive aftercare plans that include access to an aftercare worker for ongoing support, alumni meetings, and alumni events and TRC services.