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Albina turns 1

Yesterday was a day for celebration at the Albina site where Umbrella works with Our Place. It was one year ago that the newly purpose built housing site had completed building and had residents moving in. The weather held out, burgers were grilled, cake was eaten and f...
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RBC Chat

Today, folks from RBC branches joined Evan and Sharlene for a conversation about Umbrella and how RBC can help. We at Umbrella love partnering with RBC, they share a similar community vision and values as we do and they enjoy supporting non-profits, like Umbrella, to make...
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Vic High Resource Fair

Today, Sean and Evan are at the Resource Fair at Vic High School. This is an important event to be at, to answer questions, provide support and make connections. This all day resource fair, is also an opportunity for community members to learn more about Umbrella and fo...
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Grade 11 students

Last Friday, Evan and Rebecca spent the afternoon with the grade 11 students at St Michaels. This was another engaged and curious group of students. The questions these students submit anonymously and ask at each of the session we host, are thoughtful and genuine. This...
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Victoria Foundation Visit

Today, our friends from the Victoria Foundation, Tracy and Sushil, came to Foundation House for a tour and to learn more about the work we are doing in recovery housing. Evan, Erik and Sharlene shared about the house, the history and Erik shared his experience as a resid...
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Grade 10 students

Tuesday Evan and Rebecca spent several hours with the Grade 10 students at St Michaels. This was a very engaged group and many stayed after to ask questions. Our team fielded more than 20 questions about substance use and how it impacts their brains, their families, thei...
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Adios Albina!

Today Sean had his last day at Albina. Sean is moving into an Outreach role at Umbrella, but has really captured the hearts of the residents and our Our Place partners. They had a little going away shin dig for him. Josh is staying put at Albina and our new Lucy is joi...
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Grade 9 students

After kicking the week off with presentations to the grade 12 students at St Michaels, Evan and Rebecca ended the week with the grade 9 students. There was a lot of differences, not just their age, but the engagement, the questions, the curiosity and more. Some of the fa...
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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...
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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...