'It's all thanks to Ap': Celebrating North West River addictions centre, 1 year on

It was Apenam Pone's dream to have an addictions treatment centre to help his people in his home community in Sheshatshiu, Labrador.

Pone died 10 years ago, but his dream lives on in the form of Apenam's House, a residential treatment facility in North West River.

Finally that dream has been realized.- Kristin Sellon

This past weekend, the centre celebrated one year of being open and during that year, the centre has seen 169 people through the program.

"We're celebrating the man it's very emotional for me," says Pone's daughter, Kristin Sellon, who is also the manager of the addictions program.

"It's amazing. There's not enough we can say, and it's all thanks to Ap."

Sellon said the centre was a long time coming, after years of residents going to the Brentwood Recovery Home in Windsor, Ont., for treatment.

"There wasn't anything concrete in the community, and the community was asking for residential services, drop-in services, the ability to come when they were struggling, not having to wait for a program to start."

'We are at 100 per cent capacity'

Sellon herself went through the Brentwood program 24 years ago, so she knows it works. And so have many other people in the community.

"Right now we are 100 per cent at capacity. We have a waiting list, we have people on day programs because we can't accommodate them, we don't have the physical beds to accommodate them," she told CBC's Labrador Morning.

Pone was the first Innu man to attend the program at Brentwood, Sellon said, and what he learned during his time there, he brought back to help his neighbours who were also struggling with addiction, starting AA groups and sharing circles.

"He always had a dream that there would be a residential component along with the land-based component that would help his people, and finally that dream has been realized."

'I just had to push myself'

Amanda Rich, Pone's niece, also did the program in Brentwood about seven years ago, and said having a program in the community has helped her continue her fight against addiction.

"Six years ago, there really was no program here that I was a little worried when I came back, to thinking, what is gonna be my support? What is gonna be my after care?" she said.

Having the centre in her hometown has made a big difference for her, and others like her.

The sheer number of alumni of the program means the support system is growing stronger, and they all want to be able to give something back.

• Recovering addict reaches out to drug abusers in Labrador

"I just had to push myself to do it and right now I'm living a very happy life and I've gotten a lot of things back that I lost, broken relationships," said Rich.

"I had a daughter too that basically I neglected, but now within the seven years that I've been through the program,I've gained those relationships back and so much more."

'We need volunteers resources'

But Sellon said there's still work to be done to get people in Labrador the help they need, and to make Apenam's House even better.

"We need volunteers. We need resources, we don't have enough beds, we need Health Canada to recognize that this program works and that we can adjust funding. Realize that Labrador as a region doesn't have an adult addictions program and the wait lists for the Atlantic treatment centre are often two to three months," she said.

"The ability to open our doors to the entire Labrador region would be, I think, the fulfillment of Apenam's dream."