Interview with Todd Willoughby, teacher at Portage Academy, in Elora A combination of circumstances led Todd Willoughby to Portage Ontario, six years ago. Today, the Phys Ed teacher wouldn’t leave his job for anything in the world! After a decade teaching in a regular high school, Todd decided to pursue his career at Portage Academy…. Read more »
For most of Tyler’s life, he was a “normal kid” and had never had any behavioural problems until the age of 14, when someone from high school introduced him to drugs and alcohol. With plenty of drugs readily available in his area, it wasn’t long before Tyler became addicted, and Oxycontin was one of his… Read more »
The time a person spends at Portage can best be described as a time of self-discovery. In the supportive and nurturing environment of the Portage community, our clients encounter, sometimes for the first time, their emergent self. This is not so much about treatment as it is about freeing the beautiful person within, to face… Read more »
Reintegrating back into mainstream society after residential therapy is one of the most challenging parts of the recovery process, as new values, behaviours, and attitudes are put to the test. To help the youth who have completed the addiction rehabilitation program at Portage Elora to manage the stress of this phase, Portage Ontario has been… Read more »
One person’s addiction affects many more than that one person. Parents often feel helpless and guilty in the face of a child’s addiction, and loved ones often want desperately to help, but don’t know how. At Portage, we recognise that a healthy family support network is the bedrock of an individual’s recovery from addiction, which… Read more »
One out of eight adolescents has admitted to using prescription medication Many youth mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs, since they have been approved for consumption. They don’t necessarily understand that taking medication for non-medical reasons carries severe risks: intoxication, dependency, overdose, and death. to get high, and 70% of them… Read more »
“When I was drunk I would try anything,” says Jesse of his torturous years of drug addiction. At the tender age of 11, he took his first sip of alcohol, succumbing to a heady feeling of peer pressure from his own babysitter. By the time he was 13, he was spiraling down a vortex of… Read more »
The residential phase of Portage’s drug addiction rehabilitation program is a time of intense work and profound learning, as residents build their self-esteem and acquire skills to help them in their long-term struggle for sobriety. Once back out in the real world, Portage Ontario’s Aftercare Program provides them with support and encouragement to maintain the… Read more »
Reintegrating back into everyday life is often the most vulnerable point in an addict’s recovery, as new values, behaviours, and attitudes are put to the test in the outside environment. Portage’s two-year Aftercare Program helps graduates manage this challenge, giving them support and tools to help them withstand negative influences and cope with the stresses… Read more »
At the Portage Ontario Fresh Start event this fall, Daniel bravely stood in front of two hundred strangers to tell them about the traumas of his past that lead to his drug problems and criminal convictions. He explained how, while in treatment at Portage, he learned to better understand himself, so that he could work… Read more »
