Recovery Capital Conference

This last week Adriana, Jarret and Louise from Umbrella headed to the 8th annual Recovery Capital Conference in Calgary. The days were full, and the team came back filled with a renewed commitment to the work we do. In addition to the vast learning that took place, thi...

St Michaels School

Today, Evan and Rebecca presented to the grade 12 students at St Michael University School. There were about 150 students present, as well as a few teachers, and a lot of interest, engagement and questions. Evan and Rebecca stayed after to field some additional question...

Hep C Education

Today, some of the Umbrella team spent the afternoon learning about HEP C. Daryl Luster, Peer Advocate and Mentor for HEP C based out of Vancouver, joined the team to share about his own journey, misconceptions, stigma, prevention and treatment. The Umbrella staff learn...

VNFC Community Fair

Yesterday, Louise from Umbrella manned the table for RAAC (Rapid Access Addictions Clinic) at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre's annual community care fair. This was a very important community care fair, helping people learn about the services that the RAAC clinic o...

Stelly’s Secondary School

Today Evan and Rebecca presented to the faculty and a few students at Stelly's Secondary today. The principal Melanie Pass (pictured below) and her fellow staff spent their lunch time discussing recovery and how Umbrella can help individuals and their loved ones. Joinin...

Podcast Season 2/E10 – Alysha

In this episode, Blake sits down with Alysha as she shares her struggles with alcohol and her conviction to enter recovery for the well being of her son. Alysha touches upon the hereditary aspect of addiction and her effort to break the cycle. Have a listen on Umbrella's...

Random Acts of Kindness Day

The Victoria Foundation is promoting their annual Random Acts of Kindness Week. What used to be a day, is now a week, and we couldn't be more thrilled. The staff have been making sure they are doing additional acts of kindness this week and people are feeling good. Tod...

Co-Dependency Group

Umbrella is pleased to offer another round of Co-Dependency groups to those who struggle with co-dependency behaviours. Starting in March and by registration only, Registered Clinical Counsellor Valerie MacNeil will provide support and strategies for the group participa...

Devin Retires

Devin Lynn has been a manager at Island Health for many, many years. Devin has been a huge supporter of Umbrella and a mentor to Sharlene. Today, we celebrated Devin and his retirement this Friday. There was great turnout, yummy food and stories that showed the type...

Goodbye Laura

December was a sad month for Umbrella and the SURF team. Laura resigned to attend full time school in January and continue her work in this field. SURF started with Laura and she brought an incredible amount of knowledge, history, empathy and support to the clients they...