Funder and service provider: Island Health
Mission
To provide women and non-binary individuals with support, community and connection to inspire hope and progress in their substance use recovery.
Overview
Coastal Sage Healing House provides a safe place for wrap-around, culturally appropriate and trauma-informed recovery services to women and non-binary individuals across the Island Health region who are experiencing substance use challenges resulting in negative impacts to wellbeing. Programming includes group and individual counselling, mindfulness and life skills, relapse prevention, and other therapeutic activities such as art, gardening, yoga and more in order to empower participants to improve their quality of life and independence. Participant-centred care plans address substance use, social relationships, as well as physical, cultural and mental health needs.
The program is located in a house in a residential area, and provides a welcoming, comfortable and safe environment for participants who will stay there for up to 90 days. Participation in the program is voluntary and participants are expected to not use substances during their stay in the treatment program. The program is staffed 24/7 365 days/year. While Coastal Sage Healing House is located in the South Island, it welcomes and accepts participants from across Island Health’s service area.
Philosophy of Care
Recovery means different things to everyone. At Coastal Sage Healing House providers will walk alongside the participants on their recovery journey, where they will develop holistic goals that build recovery capital in all areas human, physical, social, spiritual and cultural. While it is expected that participants agree to abstinence while in at Coastal Sage Healing House, staff understand that recovery is a unique experience, and will work with participants to reach goals that will help participants build recovery and resilience in whatever way makes sense to them. If a relapse is to occur, Coastal Sage Healing House staff will work with the participant on a path forward on an individual, case-by-base basis, and will not necessarily result in discharge.
Accessing the Program
Coastal Sage Healing House is a program for Island Health residents region-wide, regardless of where they live. Access to Coastal Sage Healing House is regionally determined and takes into account personal, social and health related factors to support timely and equitable access to the service.
Any clinician or support worker can complete the referral package below and submit the information to treatmentcentres@islandhealth.ca for review by the regional triage committee. If you are a community member and think that Coastal Sage Healing House may be the right place for you, please talk to your care provider (e.g. physician, counsellor, case worker, etc.)
Coastal Sage Healing House Referral Package
Building Features and Programming
The building is a house and is located in Victoria. There are six individual rooms, with three rooms on the main floor and three rooms on the second floor. There is a level entry access at the front door on the main floor. There is no elevator access to the second floor. There is a common area and laundry room on the first floor, and a kitchen and additional common areas on the second floor.
There is a front and back yard with a garden space. Common areas on each floor have a television, seating area, and outdoor access. There is a phone line for clients for local calling. Long-distance calls can be made with prior arrangement with staff.
The intended length of stay is flexible based on participant circumstance. Programming is built to be either 30, 60, or 90 days in length. Once programming has been completed, participants will be invited to a join a virtual alumni group for 9 months to support ongoing living in the community.
For further information, please email treatmentcentres@islandhealth.ca.
Values
- Respect
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Participants, staff, volunteers and community partners are treated with compassion and dignity. We respect that people have unique beliefs, values, lived experiences and cultural norms, and we value their diversity. We provide a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for individuals from the diverse sexual orientation and gender identity community, as well as Indigenous individuals and people of colour.
- Community & Connection
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We work to build community and connections through our programming, including (re)connecting with family, friends, culture, and care providers. Participants are empowered to reconnect with their self and their community through building self-care, self-compassion and recovery skills in all areas of life.
- Cultural Safety & Humility
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We strive to work from a place of humility and to provide care in ways that are experienced as consistent, respectful and inclusive of different cultural values and practices. We are mindful of and recognize the lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma experienced as a result of colonization, and residential and day schools, and work to address these legacies by creating a culturally safe and humble environment for all participants.
- Collaboration
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We work to collaborate with participants to walk alongside them through their recovery journey. This includes cultivating partnerships with participants’ family, friends, communities, and care providers to support participants to make the health care decisions that are right for them.
- Equitable Access
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We work to ensure women and non-binary individuals who feel that this program is best suited to meet their needs is able to access our services in a timely and responsive manner.
