Surrey – SurreyCares Community Foundation has supplied an $11,132.00 Emergency Community Support Fund grant to Realistic Success Recovery Society to continue their COVID Community Recovery Works Outreach to ensure that unhoused, incarcerated and other vulnerable people have ongoing access to supportive recovery services. The increased need for recovery services is reflective of COVID-19 wherein people with addiction are faced with new challenges, such as a poisoned drug supply or reduced connections with ‘normal’ support systems. While the Realistic Success Recovery Society has responded with urgency to the number of overdoses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for high-quality ongoing recovery services is imperative.
“Breaking the cycle of addiction and poverty takes time, resources and a belief that each person in this province in recovery is of value. Our direct experience supports many studies that show individuals living in supportive recovery residence are more likely to secure full-time, higher-paying employment and remain abstinent than those who participate in short term treatment programs,” shared Realistic Success Recovery Society’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Susan Sanderson, “in the past two years, we have 20 alumni all of whom are working full time, improving their lives and enhancing their communities.”
The residents that Realistic Success Recovery Society supports often come from families of alcoholics or drug addicts. Their recovery can therefore have lasting impacts on their families and our community. Realistic Success Recovery Society’s outreach staff spends time driving between shelters, homeless camps, pre-trials and to the North Fraser Corrections Facility as part of the COVID Community Recovery Works Outreach program, established to support the trajectory of their residents’ lives.
This grant is made possible through the Government of Canada’s new $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund, which saw over $900,000 allocated to SurreyCares in its first round and now, over $575,000 in the second round.
“COVID-19 demonstrates the determination of local non-profits to support vulnerable populations across Surrey,” explained Christine Buttkus, Executive Director of SurreyCares. “Thanks to this funding, we can provide organizations like Realistic Success Recovery Society and their residents with much-needed assistance. We are grateful to back pillars of recovery in our community.”
The Emergency Community Support Fund is being delivered through a national partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.
“We are grateful to extend our funding to organizations in dire need through this additional government funding,” said John Lawson, Board Chair of SurreyCares, “and to back the recovery and healing journey of so many community members. The need for funding is indeed substantial and we are continuing our advocacy work to receive additional emergency funds.”
Individuals and businesses who wish to support Surrey charities are asked to give to the Surrey Community Relief Fund. In partnership with the Surrey Now-Leader, Surrey Board of Trade and The Saheli Foundation, the goal is to raise $500,000 to support the most vulnerable populations in Surrey. The Surrey Community Relief Fund supports non-profit organizations that are responding directly to the pandemic by providing aid to the most vulnerable populations in our community. These vulnerable populations may include the homeless, new immigrants and refugees, seniors, people with disabilities, mental health challenges, physical health, and others who may be negatively impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic.
