Coming to Peak House

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Coming to Peak House is a huge step.

It takes a lot of courage to make the decision to leave behind the familiar and walk through these doors and into the possibility of the next phase of your life.

The first two weeks can be a difficult time of adjustment. Not only are you leaving drugs and alcohol behind, but also old patterns, ways of thinking, and people that may have got in the way of you living the life you most want.

We will be here to support you through that process and forward into helping you to cultivate the life you most want.

Here are a few things you can do to help prepare yourself...

  • Ask us any question — knowing ahead of time could help you decide if this is the right place for you.
  • Read through the information guide.
  • Make a plan to safely cut down your drug and alcohol use. Talk to your A&D counsellor about whether or not you need to go to detox. We ask that you have 7 days free from using all drugs and alcohol before you get here.
  • Keep meeting with your A&D counsellor.
  • Start thinking about who will support you while you are in the program. Think about your phone list. For the first 4 weeks your phone calls are limited to family/caregivers and supportive professionals. Supportive friends and partners can be added to your phone list half way through the program. You can write letters to anyone.
  • Check out the program guidelines. If there are certain guidelines that will be hard for you, start thinking of how you can handle them.
  • Decide who you want to tell about coming to Peak House, and let them know.

Youth Treatment Agreements

These agreements are non-negotiable — they are required if you are to enter and stay at Peak House

Some places have rules, we have agreements. These are ideas and behaviours we require if you want to come and stay at Peak House. These agreements help us to create a safe place for you and everyone else to do the hard work of treatment. If you are not able, or don’t want to agree we will work with you to find a program or option that better reflects your needs. The agreements fall under two main categories, safety and group living.

Threats to Safety

  • No drugs, alcohol, paraphernalia at Peak House
  • No physical violence, verbal threats, intimidating, isolating, or bullying ‘mean’ behaviour
  • Follow your own safety plan
  • Do not leave the program without notifying staff
  • Do not ask other youth to leave the program with you

Ability to live in a group setting

  • No relationships that pull attention away from recovery
  • Full participation/contribution in the program
  • No sex, sexual intimacy, sexual relationships, sexualized touching with/of other people at Peak House
  • Respect for others space and right to a positive therapeutic community

Here’s what some youth said helped: