Partnership Announcement: Stonewall Recovery Centre
Simon House is proud to announce a new partnership with Stonewall Recovery Centre, an addiction recovery program for 18–24-year-old people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community! Co-founded by Steven Archambault and Brittney Sawyer, Stonewall Recovery Centre will launch in the Spring of 2023. You may recognize those names because they both have a long history with Simon House.
According to Statistics Canada, 4% of the population identifies as 2SLGBTQ+. But 40% of youth on the street are in the 2SLGBTQ+ community. They are labelled as Runaways and Throwaways, with the latter being the majority. How can we be ok with such a disparity in our society?
Our 2SLBGBTQ+ youth are dying at a greater rate than ever before; they are at an astonishing 14 times greater risk of addiction and suicide than their straight peers. Currently, no place or program exists in Canada that they can call home while they recover from the disease of addiction. No place exists where they feel safe, and secure, with the ability to be authentically themselves. No place exists that is predictable and will always be there no matter what.
What does it mean if we continue to wait, to not provide a safe place in which they can recover from this disease? In the next year alone, over two thousand 2SLGBTQ+ people will die if nothing changes. We know the responsibility now falls to each of us; to put action to our words of support for the founders, Steven Archambault and Brittney Sawyer, along with our champion Dr. John Rook and the team at Simon House. Together we are creating the Stonewall Recovery Centre to fill a need that is long overdue.
By creating Stonewall Recovery Centre, each 2SLGBTQ+ person will have agency in their recovery. The live adage “Nothing about me without me.” Stonewall will provide each 2SLGBTQ+ person with the dignity they deserve and a fighting chance to arrest their addiction.
Stonewall Recovery Centre will be a safe place for 2SLGBTQ+ people to recover from addiction and is critical to recovery success. We believe this safe place is even more critical when you have been misunderstood, abused, thrown away and victimized.
Stonewall Recovery Centre will accept people from all over Canada. To learn more and if you have questions, email us at StonewallRecovery@gmail.com.
Additional Resources
NEWS RELEASE: Canadian Drag Race Superstar, Kendall Gender, Partnering with Stonewall Recovery Centre to Champion 2SLGBTQ+ Recovery.
December 9, 2022 - Recognizing the historic mission of Stonewall Recovery to build Canada’s first 2SLGBTQ+ addiction treatment centre, Kendall Gender has joined the Stonewall Recovery team as champion and advisor in making a queer-safe environment for people to recover.