If it wasn’t for a Keremeos area teen drug rehabilitation facility, Rob Boretta-McLeod figures he would be in jail or dead.
The now 23-year-old man living in Penticton spent almost a year total in the facility shortly after it opened in 2009/2010. He was the first male client at after it opened in 2009.
“This place made such a difference in my life. I don’t think people understand what it does for teens. We need more of facilities like this and from my experience I know this one works,” he said.
The Crossing, which was operated by Portage British Columbia abruptly closed its doors March 5. Spokespersons for Portage say despite efforts they were not able to come to an agreement on care or budget with the provincial government and were forced to pull out of the facility.
Boretta-McLeod is part of an online group of former clients of the facility that are rallying and collecting signatures to petition the government to find a way to make a deal with Portage.
“I’m a person that believes in the healing power of nature. It’s a beautiful area, peaceful and I think that’s one of the things for me and why it had such an impact is that I was totally away from the situation. Away from the drinking and the drugs in this beautiful place,” he said.
Boretta-McLeod said he spent years drinking and doing drugs before finding his way to The Crossing.
The North Vancouver teen wound up in the hospital several times from his excessive drinking.
Although he tried to quit drinking on his own several times, he couldn’t get past his demons.
He described those years as a teenage addict “as very dark times.”
“One of the things is that you can’t really process your feelings. I couldn’t deal with them. That’s one of the things I learned there,” she said.
He entered the rehabilitation at 18.
Boretta-McLeod said The Crossing’s therapeutic model included a collaborative approach that facilitated safe relationships. Days included multiple sessions with staff and other clients to talk about personal issues and develop plans together to deal with them.
“We basically had groups throughout the day even over breakfast and lunch and dinner. We were always talking about the issues. You learn to talk to everyone in the community and come up with plans and timeframes for each issue,” he said.
Another important part of the program for Boretta-McLeod was art and music therapy.
“I’ve always been an artsy type of person so to learn to deal with issues and express myself through art was a great experience,” he said.
Boretta-McLeod first spent nine months at the facility and then after relapsing spent another six weeks. He said he did struggle several times after coming out but that he’s been clean for 2.5 years and has never been happier.
“Recovery isn’t just a one-time thing ... it’s an everyday thing. The tools I learnt at The Crossing have helped me overcome so many challenges and struggles and be a better person and father,” he said.
Since being clean, Boretta-McLeod had a son 10 months ago and he’s also finished college and is currently looking for work as a welder.
Provincial spokespeople have claimed there were unqualified staff at the facility and that supports were not in place to help clients once they left the facility.
Borretta-McLeod was adamant that was not his experience.
He said during his year at the facility there was some changes in staff but that it didn’t effect his care.
He also said during his years in recovery he was always welcomed back to the facility whenever he was in the area.
“You could go back anytime you wanted. I did a few times when I was in the area. I just had to call ahead and I could hang out there and talk to counsellors about the things I needed to,” he said.
He also went to programs in the community’s he lived in for support. Religion was an optional component of the program when he was at the facility. Although Boretta-McLeod attended church several times, but he said it wasn’t a requirement.
“There was a staff member that used to take kids to church if they wanted to go. It was an optional thing. It was something people could explore on a spiritual level,” he said.
The closing of The Crossing has left the province scrambling to find places for about a dozen clients that had been wait-listed for programming. At the time the facility closed no clients were on-site.
A Provincial Health Service Authority said the province is continuing to look at options to meet the needs of youth that need addictions rehabilitation. No timeline as to when decisions will be made has been given.
Anyone wishing to sign a petition in support of Portage running The Crossing facility should visit change.org or email saveportagebc@hotmail.com.