For over 10 years, it’s been a dream for Angela Carter to work in recovery. That’s why she’s honoured to step into the roll of executive director at Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Treatment Centre located just outside of Prince George.
“I have experience with addictions with people that I love in my personal life, so that’s why it’s such an honour to work at Baldy Hughes,” said Carter. “I feel like it’s a place that I want to be for a long time.”
That place is a therapeutic community farm located on 166 acres on Blackwater Road, specifically for men in recovery from addiction.
Carter is an Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe woman originally from Southern Ontario, but has lived in Prince George for the last 24 years, and believes in the importance of recognizing Indigenous culture and having it at the forefront of recovery.
She’s worked in healthcare, social services, and educational leadership with her two previous roles being an educational supervisor for School District No. 57 (SD57) and the executive director of Positive Living North (PLN), an organization that focuses on harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, addictions, and homelessness.
“I think with working in Indigenous education, it really taught me a lot about truth and reconciliation, the importance of acknowledgement on the land that we are on, and the importance of culture and ceremony and connection to oneself,” said Carter.
Since becoming executive director in late August, Carter reached out to Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, who then participated in a flag raising to acknowledge the territory that Baldy Hughes is situated on.
Carter said they’ve also built a sweat lodge which they’ve now incorporated into the community farm.
“We also want to look at some land-based education, ensuring that our residents are graduating, and providing vocational training,” said Carter, adding they just finished a five-day session where the residents learned emergency first-aid and power saw training.
“We're really trying to equip our residents, not only in recovery, but after they leave that transition piece is really crucial for success.”
She noted they recently had a resident who left Baldy Hughes after graduating with their grade 12 and successfully completing a year in recovery.
“I've seen who he was when he first came in, and the way he presented when he left was amazing,” said Carter.
“They want to be in recovery, they're doing the best work that they can, and I think they're really appreciative of having a year-long program.”
Carter said having such a lengthy program is an asset. While most treatment centres offer 30-to-90-day placements, at Baldy Hughes men who are recovering from addiction can stay upwards of a year.
This gives them the time and space to engage in individual counselling, to learn about healthy boundaries and communication, while participating in work therapies like woodworking, beekeeping, taking care of horses, and maintaining a greenhouse.
Living and working in social services in Prince George, Carter says she’s seen the impact of the overdose crisis on Prince George and says Baldy Hughes is severally underutilized.
“I think we're all around a really great gem in the north,” said Carter.
“In the future we are ensuring we focus on the individual, encompassing the holistic model, which includes physical, mental, emotional and spirituals aspects of self for recovery. Although we are implementing Indigenous Pedagogy, the teachings are for everyone.”
