Westminster House gives back through Clean-Up New West 2022

It all comes down to gratitude, a principle Westminster House’s Laura Dunne says many of them live by.

Westminster House, a not-for-profit that allows women to focus on addiction recovery, is hosting a clean-up event this Sunday. The goal is to give back and show appreciation to the community for embracing the people who have been able to get their lives back on track through Westminster House.

The details:When: Sunday, June 26. Registration begins at 9 am.Where: Meet-up at Tipperary Park.What you’ll enjoy: Prizes, music, food, and a variety of entertainment

“This is something that we used to do, and haven’t been able to. Having our staff, alumni and our clients get involved in the community, feel good and help out, it’s a way of giving back,” says Dunne, who is a development assistant. “We want to give back to this city that really supports our recovery program, our treatment centre, and also the women who choose to live in New Westminster and build their lives here.”

Westminster House was initially founded in 1981 as the Julien House Society, named after BC dentist Dr. Walter Julien, who was also a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. As the years went on, the community realized there was a need for a safe space in which women could recover from alcoholism, with a temporary home being leased in 1985. Fast forward to today, and dozens of women have been able to turn their lives around in a holistic and safe environment. The event is also a celebration of the success Westminster House has helped to cultivate.

“We’re going to have some local entertainment, a band that’s coming to play. We’ll also have prizes, of course, for the most garbage picked up, the weirdest item. It’s going to be a way of gathering the community and doing something good for it,” says Dunne.

“Something needs to be said about the city of New Westminster,” explains Susan Hogarth, executive director of Westminster House. “They have been supportive of building recovery capital for 41 years. They go that extra mile to make sure we have a good home where people can recover, and have been supported.”

Hogarth says they’re doubly grateful, especially with the support the house received during the pandemic from the various levels of government. Still, Hogarth says there are many important conversations to be had. “More than the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid overdose crisis has really taken the lives of more people than COVID-19 in this province,” she says. “We still do have an epidemic, which is a toxic drug supply, and we have to take that very seriously.”

Ultimately, Hogarth says there is a lot to celebrate as a community, and she hopes people will come out to support the event. “We hope it’s going to be a place of gathering where we can talk about our gratitude,” she says, also adding that the clean-up is a simple way to leave our mark on our community. “We have this high expectation that somebody’s always going to clean up after us. This is really an event of us showing that we’re going to roll up our sleeves, and do our part.”