A pair of South Surrey-based recovery coaches travelled to the land of the midnight sun – a place they describe as "ground zero" of the opioid crisis – to teach members from 10 Yukon First Nations how to mentor citizens through their recovery journey.
Words like "awe-inspiring" fall far short of adequately describing the experience in Whitehorse, Still Here founder Kevin Diakiw said, days after returning from the week-long session held at the Yukon Inn.
"These folks know loss in a way most of us can't begin to fathom.
"Overdose. Suicide. People simply missing."
Held July 15 to 19, the training aimed to fill a gap in addiction services – that of a peer-to-peer approach to recovery, enabling it to be tailored in a way that makes sense to the person who is struggling.
There are many. It's estimated 21 per cent of Canadians will battle addiction in their lifetime; oftentimes a result of self-medicating to ease chronic anxiety and depression.
Diakiw is no stranger to the cycle. He lived it for 14 years, after he and his brother found their father lifeless, a shotgun in his lap, in a motel room. Diakiw was just 17 years old at the time.
The discovery marked a horrific end to their father's struggles with addiction, and a terrifying beginning to their own.
Diakiw – an Ocean Park resident and former Black Press Media journalist – was the 'lucky' one: he survived, ultimately finding sobriety. He's been clean and sober for more than three decades now.
His brother, Mark, however, died at 42, from a drug-related heart attack, after years of turning to cocaine and heroin to numb the pain of what they saw as teenagers.
On his Still Here website bio, Diakiw notes he is "here because I am still here, and they are not."
He launched Still Here in March 2017, after working 25 years as a journalist.
He travelled to the Yukon with fellow recovery-coach trainer Shelley Shadow. The pair will be in southern Alberta this month to train some of the Blood tribe; scaling back on training they've offered out of White Rock's Ocean Promenade Hotel since 2020 to make room for such private engagements.
"The need is great," Diakiw said.
Prior to last month's training, the Yukon territory was home to just two certified recovery coaches. Now, there are more than 20.
“This is a new network for Yukon," Desiree Blackjack told trainees.
"Not only are we recovery coaches, but we can also be a network in helping each other in our communities to build aftercare.”
Blackjack travelled to White Rock earlier this year to train with Still Here, working upon her return to the Yukon to organize local bands and procure funding to offer it locally through her Thay K'i Anint'i organization. The effort was one of nine projects supported by the Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust.
She explained to participants that Thay K’i Anint’i has been active in six Yukon communities so far, and described gatherings and workshops with a focus on tools for recovery and healing.
“I would have really loved to do recovery coaching, but I was the only one. Now we have a roomful,” Blackjack said.
According to the National Institute on Health, the northern territories, B.C. and Alberta bear "the highest burden" of Canada's opioid crisis.
The Yukon Territory recorded 23 substance-use related deaths last year; 20 of which involved opioids. Of those 20 individuals, 14 identified as First Nation.
Chief coroner Heather Jones said Wednesday (Aug. 7) that while the 2023 toxic-drug fatality numbers – along with those in 2021 – were the highest per capita in Canada, she believes the Yukon is "seeing a positive shift."
So far this year, six opioid-related deaths have been confirmed, "which takes us away from the lead nationally," Jones said.
"And although it is never good news to have anyone lost in this way, it is certainly better news than we have had for the past three years."
Jones disagreed that the Yukon was ever "ground zero" of the opioid crisis, noting the term suggests it is where it all began.
"Sadly, we have just been profoundly affected, as have so many other jurisdictions across Canada."
Diakiw and Shadow said recovery coaches can act as an “extended warranty for treatment” by being among those greeting and supporting people returning from outside treatment to their communities. It’s different from inpatient treatment or an addiction counsellor, offering additional guidance to a sober path that’s right for each individual.
Trainees described learning how to deal with those who are coming out of treatment centres, and what to do "when they want to get a plan to maintain their sobriety."
One noted it would have made a world of difference if he'd had these services himself, "back three or four treatment centres ago."
"It would have had a better impact on my own sobriety, because I would have had something to look forward to, to learn for the next week or the next couple weeks, and it would have like inspired me to remain on the sober path so I could attend such workshops.”
Another said it is "going to be a real breakthrough for the people who really need help in our communities."
Diakiw said Still Here has certified "hundreds" of recovery coaches since it began offering training out of the Ocean Promenade, teaching approaches "grounded in traditional Indigenous ways of being."
"The Indigenous value of non-interference, where no one should tell another person what to do, relates well to this non-directive person-centred approach… around honouring and respecting the inherent wisdom and worth of another individual," a news release regarding the Yukon training explains.
"Indigenous people have a way of listening, using intuition, and of having deep care and respect for another. These ancient ways of knowing and being are kindled and sharpened in the participants, a reminder of what they already inherently possess, yet formed up within a framework of actionable skillsets."
Shadow – who lives in Ocean Park but hails from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Alberta – said the Yukon experience was a personal one for her.
In recovery since 1995, she told Peace Arch News that she has "long felt that our people need to heal from within," and described the model that Blackjack is spearheading – in which at least two citizens from each Yukon nation would be trained and able to then help their relatives – as "highly intentional."
The training was "grounded in ceremony… personally transformative, as well as a professional skills training," Shadow continued.
The days began and ended with smudging and prayers led by cultural guide Peter Wylie.
"Walking gently through the week, with moments to breathe, smudge and talk about things that we were experiencing as we went," Shadow said.
"Healing circles and seating that allowed for everyone to see one another, as a form of showing respect. Truly practicing the seven sacred teachings of Respect, Humility, Courage, Honesty, Truth, Love and Wisdom."
The Government of Yukon declared a substance-use health emergency in January 2022, citing a surge in substance-use-related harms and a "drastic" increase in opiod-related deaths.
Diakiw acknowledged that what Still Here offers is only one piece of the picture.
"There are no silver bullets, but this goes a long way to helping people out of their cycle of addiction."
- with files from Jim Elliot
