Morning Keynote: "Let's get to work!"  

Family members, friends, neighbors, professionals, and other community members outside the addiction and recovery support services field play a critical role as allies in supporting recovery. Research shows that creating a meaningful life in recovery requires access to healthcare, safe and affordable housing, educational opportunities, and employment. Recovery is not only possible, it's probable, and we can all be recovery allies by building recovery capital throughout the recovery oriented system of care. The session will begin with a presentation on the recovery ecosystem and recovery capital and will then identify real world examples of ways allies in communities have supported recovery by changing the community environment and creating opportunities to boost recovery capital.  

Alison Jones Webb's Bio: 

Author and public health professional Alison Jones Webb of Charlottesville, Va., is a passionate advocate for people in recovery from addictions. She has written extensively about issues related to recovery from addiction and harm reduction and has given presentations across the US and Canada.  

Her book, Recovery Allies: How to Support Addiction Recovery and Build Recovery-Friendly Communities, lays out practical ways that communities can help support people in recovery and why this is so vitally important. Via in-depth interviews with people in recovery from around the country and a wealth of information from leading researchers, experts and advocates, Webb shows readers that there is real hope for people with addictions, and that we all have an important role in helping to support and sustain their recoveries. 

Webb holds masters degrees in public health from the University of New England and in economic history from The Johns Hopkins University. Webb has over 20 years of experience in public speaking, policy development and advocacy; data-driven decision-making; nonprofit strategic planning; community outreach and organizing; and linking community members with healthcare. She is a trained recovery coach (Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery) and recovery ambassador (Faces And Voices Of Recovery). She was a founding member of Maine’s first chapter of Young People in Recovery and served on the Steering Committee to develop the University of Southern Maine’s Collegiate Recovery Program. She is the past President of the Maine Association of Recovery Residences and is currently working with The Uhuru Foundation to open a men’s recovery/re-entry residence in Charlottesville, VA. She is also a member of the Virginia Advocacy Project.  

Breakout Session #1 – Panel 

This local panel of professionals and lived experience will explore what recovery means from multiple perspectives, how recovery appears in community, and the importance of collaborative pathways to recovery. They will share their experiences, stories, struggles, and successes as they explore the spectrum of recovery through a moderated conversation. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of the complexities of recovery and the intersecting pathways to local resources.  

Ben Borger's Bio

Ben is currently the clinical manager of the Red Deer Recovery Community.  He recently moved to Red Deer from BC, where he was working in an inpatient treatment facility.  Ben has over ten years of experience in the field of recovery through professional and personal experience.  The bulk of his experience has been within abstinence-based recovery solutions.  Ben is also a master of social work student.  He is currently conducting research on individuals' perceptions of care while attending inpatient treatment for substance use disorder. 

Breakout Session #1 – Panel 

This local panel of professionals and lived experience will explore what recovery means from multiple perspectives, how recovery appears in community, and the importance of collaborative pathways to recovery. They will share their experiences, stories, struggles, and successes as they explore the spectrum of recovery through a moderated conversation. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of the complexities of recovery and the intersecting pathways to local resources.  

Reed Charbonneau's Bio

Reed Charbonneau is Executive Director of Turning Point Society of Central Alberta in Red Deer. Leveraging his experience as a registered nurse in overdose prevention education, supervised consumption services, and palliative care, he is dedicated to empowering individuals who use substances to live healthier lives, on their own terms.

Breakout Session #1 – Panel 

This local panel of professionals and lived experience will explore what recovery means from multiple perspectives, how recovery appears in community, and the importance of collaborative pathways to recovery. They will share their experiences, stories, struggles, and successes as they explore the spectrum of recovery through a moderated conversation. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of the complexities of recovery and the intersecting pathways to local resources.  

Sarah Fleck's Bio:

Sarah Fleck is a Manager with Alberta Health Services, Community Addiction and Mental Health and has the Red Deer Opioid Dependency Program as part of her portfolio.  Prior to this role, Sarah was working as the Senior Consultant for the Central Zone Harm Reduction Services.  Sarah was previously the Clinical Manager for Turning Point Society of Central Alberta and operated the Overdose Prevention Site.  Sarah’s interested in Mental Health and Addiction started early in her nursing career, 20 years ago. Sarah has worked in Mental Health, in community and hospital and was an instructor, for several years, in the Bachelor of Science of Nursing program. Sarah has a passion for working with marginalized populations and has enjoyed working a variety of diverse roles throughout her career. 

Breakout Session #1 – Panel 

This local panel of professionals and lived experience will explore what recovery means from multiple perspectives, how recovery appears in community, and the importance of collaborative pathways to recovery. They will share their experiences, stories, struggles, and successes as they explore the spectrum of recovery through a moderated conversation. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of the complexities of recovery and the intersecting pathways to local resources.  

Kath Hoffman's Bio: 

Kath Hoffman is the Executive Director of Safe Harbour Society. Informally she is known as the “Captain” at the Harbour. For over 18 years she’s been sailing with her extraordinary crew through the choppy waters surrounding the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, and mental health.  

Like any Captain worth their salt, she navigates by the light of the 7 Stars that Safe Harbour steers by. Relationship is their North Star and the others are Truth telling, Peacemaking, Listening, Compassion, Storytelling and of course Risk taking.  

Kath and her team at Safe Harbour are providing a variety of resources that help people take their first steps on their recovery journey and she is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Recovery Summit’s panel presentation!  

Breakout Session #2: "Understanding Trauma and Behaviour; Revolutionizing Trauma Informed Care for Self and Others”

As frontline providers, working with traumatized or addicted individuals is inherently challenging, both personally and professionally. Vicarious trauma and burnout are inevitable without greater understanding of human biology and the necessary tools to cope with this complex challenge. 

This presentation will start with a neurobiological understanding of what happens when people experience trauma, whether big “T” or little “t”, and how it informs their behavior and thought processes. We will discuss vernacular such as positivity bias and silencing response which is rampant in our culture.  We will examine why positive thinking and complex interventions are more likely to fail or be limited with these populations, and why people can know not to do something – and even commit themselves to behave differently in the future – and still get hijacked into old behavior patterns.  We will work on building an understanding of your client’s behaviors and how to maximize your effectiveness in managing their trauma reactions. 

As for yourselves, you will gain a deep and intimate understanding of your own historical triggers and how to manage the inevitable transference, countertransference and triggering that naturally happens when you interact with other people – colleagues and clients alike. Finally, we will explore the concepts and tools for self-care in the workplace as you engage in your important work caring for others (that will not require endless hours of self-care time in your already busy schedules). 

I look forward to meeting you all and engaging in a lively and active conversation about this important and widely misunderstood area of human behavior! 

Elicia Miller's Bio:  

I am a Registered Clinical Psychologist with a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology and have been practicing in Central Alberta for the past 10 years. I specialize in treating PTSD, Complex Trauma, and long-standing challenges which emerge from a lifetime of accumulated experiences.  In therapy, I am passionate about helping others resolve ongoing personal blocks so that they can pursue a passionate, healthy, vibrant life. As a front-line service provider, I am passionate about assisting other caregivers, frontline personnel, and emergency personnel in developing a vibrant, healthy and resilient sense of self throughout their meaningful but often challenging work.  I personally seek balance in my own life through walking in the woods, playing with my dogs, gardening and creating art of any kind – lately stained glass. Outside of these more traditional self maintenance strategies, I enjoy engaging in micro self care practices that do not take much time but help sustain me in my work.  

Breakout Session #3: “What is Recovery, Recovery Capital and a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC)?” 

In order to understand what a ROSC is, we will first need to have an understanding of the concepts of recovery and recovery capital. Dr. Sobey will provide a practical overview of these concepts, their orientation to a strengths based approach and how they are being applied in the work of RSG in Alberta.  

Dr. Paul Sobey's Bio: 

My background is in Family Practice. I completed fellowship training in Addiction Medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University in 1999. Since this time I have focused my practice to the treatment of patient with addictions. I have had the honour and opportunity to work extensively in educational, residential treatment, hospital and correctional facility settings, as well as medical-legal, occupational, hospital and administrative roles.  I am a past President of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine, the nationally representative organization for physicians and allied healthcare professionals providing healthcare services for people with addictions. I am a person in long term recovery who continues to seek further pathways of recovery. In December 2022, two colleagues and myself formed ROSC Solutions Group and were awarded healthcare contracts by the Government of Alberta. The contract’s scope of work is focused on supporting Alberta’s Recovery Oriented Systems of Care model in addressing addiction and mental health challenges.  

Breakout Session #4 "Recovery from an Indigenous Perspective" 

Recovery is connection and culture is prevention. Wellbriety based treatment with Indigenous focus of the Medicine Wheel.

Lynn Jonasson's Bio

Lynn is a long time resident of Red Deer and a highly respected traditional indigenous Elder as identified by his community.

He works alongside his wife of 43 years Corky, and together they have a son- River,  as well as many other adopted children, grandchildren and relatives.

He is a member of the Fisher River Cree Nation located in the Treaty 5 land of Manitoba.

He carries 3 traditional indigenous names:

• “Buffalo Caller” from the Kainai (Blackfoot)
• “Eagle from Afar” from the Westcoast Haida.
• “Scout Who Carries the Warclub” from the Assiniboine.

Elder Lynn works where his heart leads him. And for many years his heart has found a home as Elder support with Vantage Community Services, primarily with children in care. He provides indigenous support through traditional ceremonies as needed in a gentle and accepting way.

His other busy community work includes many years as Elder support in the field of addictions at Red Deer Safe Harbour Society and manages the Many Healing Blankets program.  

Lynn was one of the individuals that began the Wellbriety programming in Red Deer, an indigenous way of working through the 12 steps of sobriety. He is passionate about the White Bison Wellbriety way as he has been witness to many that have succeeded.

Lynn was passed the teachings of the traditional sweat lodge that is located at Fort Normandeau Red Deer as well as other ceremonies from his traditional teacher George Goodstriker and other elders.
He is a sundance man that carries the sundance piercing ceremony.
Lynn was recently honoured and transferred a traditional indigenous headdress at this past June 2023 community Feast.

Lynn has been a member of Red Deers Urban Aboriginal Voices since its inception and has sat on various domains and as the chair leadership in the past years. He had been involved with the Red Deer Native Friendship Society, the City of Red Deer and is a member of the National Collective of Walking With Our Sisters Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Initiative as elder support.
He supports at the Red Deer Remand  and volunteers at Red Deer Regional Hospital and  volunteers with Pe’Sakastew, the Healing Center for men located in Maskwacîs.

He is loved by and in return loves his community and works very, very hard for his community.

Afternoon Keynote - "Whole of Society Approach" to Recovery and Social Challenges 

In her upcoming presentation, Dr. Turner will make a compelling case for a "whole of society approach" to recovery, emphasizing that we all have a role to play in this complex landscape. Using data-driven insights, she will explore the interconnected challenges of new synthetic substances, post-COVID mental health and addiction, and public safety issues such as organized crime and gun violence. She will also delve into systemic barriers like housing, homelessness, and social infrastructure, which are often overlooked but crucial to the recovery journey. 

Dr. Turner will argue that these multifaceted issues are deeply interconnected and cannot be addressed in isolation. Her insights will underscore the need for a Recovery Oriented System of Care that integrates prevention and intervention measures across all sectors—business, government, and nonprofit. She will champion the idea that recovery is not just an individual endeavour but a collective responsibility, requiring the active participation of recovery champions from all walks of life. 

Company Overview 

HelpSeeker is an Alberta-based B-Corp  social technology and innovation enterprise, committed to untangling complex social challenges and revolutionizing the social safety net. Our suite of data-led software products is crafted to offer social system and community leaders unparalleled decision support and systems intelligence, meeting their distinct needs for policy formulation, organizational growth, and optimization. 

By fusing deep sector expertise with state-of-the-art data analytics and software, HelpSeeker's products navigate the intricate and multidimensional landscape of social issues. We empower leaders across sectors to make informed, impactful decisions, advocating for a "whole of society approach" to effect meaningful social transformation. 

Dr. Alina Turner's Bio 

Dr. Alina Turner is a leading expert in complex social challenges and the evolution of the social safety net. Her work spans academia, business, government, and civil society sectors, advocating for a unified systems approach to address society's most pressing challenges. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of HelpSeeker Technologies, an Alberta-based software company focused on the social sector and a Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.  

Social Media handles 

• LinkedIn: Dr. Alina Turner - Co-Founder - HelpSeeker and HelpSeeker Technologies 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlinaITurner and https://twitter.com/HelpSeekerOrg 
• Corporate site: helpseeker.org