VANCOUVER
— Organizers of Recovery Day, an annual event held in 25 cities across
Canada to celebrate overcoming addiction, are hoping the federal
government will proclaim a Recovery Month, to further raise awareness
about the disease.
As loud electronic music boomed from Queen
Elizabeth Plaza in downtown Vancouver on Saturday, dozens of recovering
addicts and their supporters gathered for the city’s third annual
Recovery Day, before marching to the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Among
them was park board vice chair Constance Barnes, whose own struggle with
alcohol addiction was thrown into the spotlight five years ago when she
was arrested for drinking and driving.
”So many people are still
in hiding because of the stigma. It’s brutal. This is a disease just
like any other,” said Barnes, adding she would like to see a centre for
excellence for addiction built in Vancouver.
“Recovery can be from anything — food, bulimia, sex, porn — it’s not just alcohol and drugs.”
In
2009, Barnes was arrested outside of a home in south Vancouver after
she fell asleep at the wheel and hit a residential home. She later
issued a statement, apologizing for her actions, which had followed a
time of “deep personal struggle.”
She has since received help and
counselling that looks at the genealogy of family addiction. At the
Orchard Recovery and Treatment Center on Bowen Island, Barnes said she
found the therapy enlightening, and also discovered that she was
predisposed to the disease.
Barnes, who is seeking the federal NDP
nomination in Vancouver Centre, said by speaking out about addiction,
she hopes more people will feel comfortable talking about it with
friends, family and coworkers.
“We still don’t ask whether this is a disease and we need to be asking that question.”
Recovery
Day spokeswoman Lorinda Strang said 25 cities across Canada are holding
similar events, but at different times of the month.
“This is
about hope. It’s about freedom. It’s about courage and perseverance,
everything that it means to be in recovery,” she said. “We are not
aligned with any one group, but we want people to know there are many
ways to get into recovery. Whatever the path, the ultimate goal is
freedom from addiction.”
In 2012, Mayor Gregor Robertson
proclaimed Recovery Day in conjunction with Vancouver resident David
Berner, executive director of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada.
The
U.S. government recognizes September as Recovery Month, and Strang, who
is also the executive director of Orchard Recovery and Treatment
Center, said they will be asking the federal government to do something
similar here in Canada.
ticrawford@vancouversun.com
