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Round Lake opens recovery home

The home will provide a safe environment for clients who have completed a full treatment program.
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Kukpi7 Wayne Christian (left) and Allan Louis, Okanagan Indian Band councillor, tour the Painted Turtle Lodge. Image credit: Lisa VanderVelde/Morning Star

Natural light shines through the large windows that encompass the modern building, framing the beautiful scenery like pieces of art.

“I’m standing here in front of a dream, a vision that our people talked a lot about,” said Kukpi7 Wayne Christian, former executive director and board president of the Round Lake Alcohol and Drug Treatment Society, at the opening of the society’s recovery house Painted Turtle Lodge Friday morning.

The 10-bed pre and post treatment recovery house is nestled in the trees, surrounded by nature, next to the Round Lake Treatment Centre, which has been helping First Nations people with drug and alcohol addiction since it opened in 1979.

“This building will allow us to assist more people in their recovery,” said Norma Manuel, president of the Round Lake Alcohol and Drug Treatment Society board.

The home will provide a safe and stable environment for clients who have completed a full treatment program but need more assistance to further strengthen their wellness and recovery.

“You can get sober, but it’s all about how you resolve those issues that brought you into addictions in the first place,” said Christian. “It doesn’t happen in six weeks, it happens over a lifetime. Programs like this will help stabilize our people, so they can again be contributing members to our community and society as a whole.”