Partnerships with both the private and public sectors have enabled the Talitha Koum Society to launch a new program to help the society’s graduates prosper in their communities.

The society, which operates two homes in Coquitlam for women (and their young children) who are recovering from addiction, says its new ‘bridging program’ will better address both the overdose and affordable-housing crises.

The program is being led by the society’s new Outreach and Family Enhancement Coordinator, Maureen Bennie Boakye, a former acting executive director of Talitha Koum (TK).

“In this new role, I work closely with clients who are completing our spiritually rich, 12-step recovery program and with graduates, helping them to secure jobs, permanent housing, and educational-training programs,” Bennie Boakye said.

She explains that she helps connect graduating clients with appropriate resources while also supporting them with the necessary skills needed to live independently, making use of the tools and resources they learned while living in TK’s recovery homes.

Talitha Koum president Mary O’Neill said Bennie Boakye’s new position was created as a direct result of the society’s receipt of a $98,000 grant from the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF).

“We want to thank the government and its partners for this grant,” O’Neill said. “Our bridging program will make a significant positive difference in the lives of our graduates and their children.”

“Community service organizations are at the heart of communities like Coquitlam, creating a sense of belonging from coast to coast to coast,” said Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. “The Community Services Recovery Fund will enable organizations like the Talitha Koum Society, that serve our diverse communities, to adapt and modernize their programs and services and to invest in the future of their organizations.

“Together, we can rebuild from the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more just and equitable future for those in Coquitlam.”

The Community Services Recovery Fund’s funders are the Canadian Red Cross, the Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada. Talitha Koum is most grateful for their participation and that of the Coquitlam Foundation, which is administering our funding.

TK Executive Director Odo Nkum said that, in addition to the CSRF grant, a generous, multi-year donation by a faith community, Redemption Church of Vancouver, will enable the new bridging program to continue for at least two more years after the CSRF grant expires.

“Besides allowing us to continue supporting graduates well into the future, Redemption Church’s donation also gives us the opportunity to look at ways to assist some graduates with their housing costs,” Nkum said. “This is vital, given sky-high rental expenses in the Metro Vancouver area. We are most grateful!”

Bennie Boakye said her new role will also allow her to provide family education, and practical and emotional support to TK alumnae and families who have their members in recovery at TK.

“Building, nurturing, and maintaining relationships with alumnae and clients’ families is at the heart of TK’s family-enhancement program,” she said.

The federal government has stated that the $400-million CSRF was built to respond to “the adaptation and modernization needs of charities and non-profits facing immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Established in 2000, the Talitha Koum Society currently operates two recovery homes, one (Starr House) in partnership with B.C. Housing and one (Gianna House) in partnership with the City of Coquitlam.

With the goal of “loving our clients back to living,” the society offers 12-step addiction-recovery programming, life-skills training, group and individual counselling, and arts-and-craft opportunities. An Indigenous Mentor also helps connect First Nations and Metis clients with their cultural heritage.

Talitha Koum permits clients to live with their young children, something many recovery homes cannot accommodate. “This can be crucial to a client’s recovery,” Nkum said.