The Aurora Family Reunification Centre in Estevan has officially opened its doors to the public.
Last Friday, the group held an open house at their new facility in Estevan, where they informed the community about their services as well as answered any questions people may have.
"Yeah, I think overall, it was relieving on both sides. It was relieving for us to have so many positive, optimistic, and welcoming community members that welcomed us here. And then relieving on their end because they were able to finally have somebody explain the program [and] what we do. There were lots of opportunities for questions and answers. Overall, it went quite well," shared Mark Shepit, wellness director of the facility.
Members of the public had the chance to ask Aurora questions throughout the night. Shepit noted that some of the most common questions that were asked were about their clients, specifically about what would happen once they're finished with the program.
"So the concern was, essentially, once a family is done here or, say, things don't go well, what happens to that family? And there was concern that they'd end up homeless in the community here. All of our residents, all of our families, [and] everyone that attends here is provided transportation. It is one of the blessings in a way that this location is an opportunity for a fresh start because they don't have old acquaintances, old friends. There's not too much that's drawing them out into the community. They're able to focus on themselves here, and...that was intentional, right? So you need that space and quiet time without distractions, whether it be work or unfavourable influences, to just heal, spend time with the family and build relationships."
In a press release sent to the media before the event, Aurora shared that 35 families have been reunified in the Estevan branch.
"The demand for these types of services just simply outweighs the resources generally. There's also, you know, wait lists on a lot of other recovery-oriented programs at our other location in Brandon. There was more demand than we had space for," Shepit added.
The reunification centre is geared towards patients who have gone through Aurora's treatment and rehabilitation programs and are now trying to reunite with their families.
According to the program director for Aurora, Chantal Kleinchar, an average stay at a family reunification centre lasts about three months. This poses a question about the kids who will be part of the reunification process with their parents and their education moving forward. She said that the centre employs internal staff to help support the kids while their parents are enrolled in Aurora's programs.
"We're not going to enroll the kids in school if they're staying a shorter period of time. We're gonna do as much as we can on-site here. So that might be homework, booklets, [or] virtual schooling. We have youth care workers who support them with that. If someone's staying here longer term, we're gonna collaborate with the local schools and get them into school there. In most cases, they're doing things on site here."
"We have youth care workers. We do youth programming. We have ECEs [early childhood educators]. So, the kids are supported while their parents are in programming through those staff members. And then for the teenagers, we do youth groups. We work with counsellors and therapists in the community here too, who do play therapy, youth counselling, those types of services," Kleinchar added.
The Aurora Family Reunification Centre in Estevan is a new fixture in Estevan. Kleinchar noted that while there has been some pushback from some, the community has largely welcomed their team as a whole.
"There's always going to be opposition, and we're used to that. There's a stigma around addiction, and it's nothing we haven't encountered before. The community as a whole has been incredibly supportive and welcoming. It's really been amazing. And I think having the opportunity for people to voice concerns and to get some accurate information has been incredibly helpful. I hope that if there was anybody who is still in opposition, who missed this opportunity, that they would reach out and allow us to have those conversations."
"I've never been, we've never been so welcome as we have been in Estevan. From town council, the mayor, and most of the people, they love what we're doing. We feel very welcome here," added Michael Bruneau, CEO and President of Aurora, who was in attendance fielding questions from the public.
While they're in the early stages for the reunification centre in Estevan, Aurora hasn't ruled out expanding its services around the area in the future.