Many points of view have been put forward in speeches concerning the legalization of marijuana. Those in favour of the initiative denounce the failure of the repressive approach and the exorbitant costs associated with criminalization. Those on the other side of the issue fear that legalization will trivialize the impact of marijuana and encourage young… 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 »
Les Habitations Communautaires Portage II (HCP II), a brand new thirty-unit apartment building created to provide graduates of Portage’s drug addiction rehabilitation programs with access to supervised apartments following treatment, welcomed its first tenants this past fall. The building is now at complete occupancy, filled with a community of individuals full of hope for a… Read more »
After all the planning and fundraising for Portage Atlantic’s Lewis Fitness Centre project, construction is now well underway and Portage staff members and youth have been reveling in the anticipation of watching the day-to-day progress of the construction site. On January 17, Dave Emmerson, Chair of the Lewis Fitness Centre Capital Campaign, met with the… Read more »
For many clients in treatment at Portage, substance abuse has often been seen as a way to ease the suffering caused by significant traumatic experiences that they have had to deal with in the past. Portage’s Québec City Day Centre provides a special program specifically for clients who present symptoms related to physical, psychological, and… Read more »
Portage’s Mother and Child Program recognises that a parent’s issues with drug addiction can put a stressful burden on a child, which may affect his health, development, and relationships. In order to do more for the well-being of the family unit, the counsellors and specialised child care educators at the Mother and Child centre will… Read more »
All of the potential stresses of adolescence that may contribute to substance abuse can be compounded by a struggle with sexual identity. In order to better respond to the needs of clients who identify themselves as transgender, Portage Atlantic has put a pilot project in place at its residential drug addiction rehabilitation centre At Portage,… 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 »
