Portage Atlantic hosted its Annual Recognition Ceremony at its addiction rehabilitation centre on the shores of Cassidy Lake, NB, on September 29, 2019. This ceremony celebrates youth who have either completed the residential phase of their rehabilitation treatment program, or who have maintained a positive lifestyle since they graduated one year ago.
This year, 35 youth were recognized. “Enhancements in the areas of programing in the residential and aftercare phases have certainly contributed in a positive way. In addition, recent reports have shown an increase in crystal meth use in New Brunswick, and we believe this is also a contributing factor in admissions this past year”, states Kathie Rodger, Director of Portage Atlantic.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, was the guest speaker for the event. She spoke about the theme for this year’s ceremony, “All Along, It Was in Me”: “The seeds you’ve planted here at Portage will continue to help you flourish and weather storms. Today’s ceremony is an important step in your journey and you should be proud of what you have accomplished. I am so happy to be here to recognize your accomplishments and celebrate your successes with you today.”
During the ceremony, each youth crossed the stage and had the opportunity to address the crowd. Their messages were filled with hope and a vision for a better life. Among the guests present, many families were in attendance.
One mother shared the emotional story of their son’s downward spiral into addiction: “Addiction is patient and silent and strong, and it was much stronger than our son was ready to be. We are so thankful for the staff at Portage who helped him become himself again. They really saved his life.”, said Jen, mother of a Portage Atlantic graduate. Portage Atlantic is grateful to the sponsor of the 2019 Recognition Ceremony, the United Commercial Travelers of America (UCT) Jack Kidd Council #755.
Cheryl Koughan
Awesome my daughter Kelsey Ford will have 6yrs in recovery on Nov 13 2019 we are beyond Proud of her and thanks to portage Atlantic for supporting her those 7 months she attended there and to all the counsellors that helped her on her journey she is a true advocate for Addictions and is raising our grandson carter