In addition to being a residential drug addiction rehabilitation program that focuses on helping vulnerable youth to stop using drugs, Portage Ontario is about empowering its residents to develop a healthy lifestyle – eating well, sleeping well, and enjoying social and recreational activities. Portage works hard to offer diverse programming so that youth can learn… Read more »
Rehabilitating youth who are struggling with life’s challenges and reintegrating them drug-free into society to become successful and productive adults has been Portage Ontario’s mission for over three decades. The help of our community partners has been invaluable in fulfilling this mission: it really does take a village. Portage is very grateful to the following community-minded… Read more »
I sat in the waiting room looking at the walls and at the buzz of activity around me. The big sign on the wall read “Portage Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Centre”. Beside it, was a catchy poster titled RE AWAKEN your dreams. A young guy sat at the far end with two people who I assumed… Read more »
Addiction and mental health issues are becoming increasingly intertwined, necessitating collaboration between experts in both fields. Portage recently met with the Psychology Foundation of Canada (PFC) to discuss how each could help the other to carry out its mission. Representatives from PFC, a charity that focuses on mental illness in children, sat down with Portage’s… Read more »
Skye delivered the following address at the Portage Ontario Recognition Ceremony 2016. I’d like to start by thanking Portage for the opportunity to express my gratitude to so many of my fellow peers, my counsellors, and most importantly my family. In order for everyone to understand the impact this program has had on my life,… Read more »
This past fall, more than 130 people gathered at the Grand Theatre in Fergus for Portage Ontario’s annual Recognition Ceremony, to pay tribute to twenty-nine youth who have completed the residential phase of their drug addiction rehabilitation program and have committed to living a positive lifestyle, free from drug abuse. “During my program I worked… Read more »
Young women today are subject to increasing pressure from aggressive marketing, the prevalence of social media, and the feminine ideals portrayed in the media. To deal with this pressure, some turn to drugs or other risky behaviour. In order to respond to this new reality for young women, a group of Portage staff members recently… Read more »
As Portage’s drug rehabilitation treatment approach has evolved over the years, there has been an increasing focus on clients’ unique attributes and individual needs, enabling the client to set the priorities for his own recovery. Taking the concept further, Portage’s Workbook is the most recent adaptation of the treatment approach, currently being piloted at Portage’s… Read more »
This year marks thirty years that Portage’s drug treatment centre in Elora has been helping youth and families to develop the necessary tools and confidence to take back control of their lives. As we celebrate our 30th birthday, we celebrate the thousands of young people whose lives have been touched by Portage since our rehabilitation… Read more »
All Portage centres for adolescents offer mandatory on-site high school programming recognised by local school boards and adapted to the needs of the residents. Though some residents have been good students in the past, many of them have struggled with school, largely because they could not keep the pace that a teacher in a large… Read more »
