ABOUT US
We are a force of hope, strength and healing for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction.OUR MISSION
U-Turn’s mission is to bring experience, strength, and hope to people who seek recovery from addiction. We do this through peer support, public education and policy consultation. We work to ensure that individuals affected by addiction and their supporters have better access to treatment services and a safe place where they can relate to, support, encourage and learn from one another to live a full and meaningful life free from stigma and discrimination.
WHY
Because every person affected by the disease of addiction is entitled to live with hope and lead a fulfilling life. Our province is facing an epidemic of addiction, significantly more in the Trinity-Conception region. Supports are limited for people waiting for or returning from professional treatment. U-Turn is responding to fill the gap in the current continuum of care with support services informed by the experience of our U-Turn participants.
OUR VISION
People living beyond addiction free from stigma.
OUR APPROACH
Our approach to recovery is based on a peer-led recovery-focused model, the concept of fellowship and the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. We believe by developing and maintaining strong ties with the 12-step community, our chances of a lifelong recovery increases exponentially.
We are committed to our core values of Compassion, Respect, and Integrity. We practice these values every day as we engage with and support our peers in recovery.
WHAT WE DO
The Drop-in Centre is our point of contact with the people in our communities most impacted by alcohol and drug addiction. Every day, we meet people from all walks of life seeking addiction treatment and recovery support, and anything from basic personal care items to legal assistance.
Visitors find a warm welcome, a compassionate ear, and most of all hope that there is a healthier, more satisfying life beyond addiction. We work to build trusting relationships and recovery plans, emphasizing the individual’s own needs and goals. Visitors are advised on addiction treatment and aftercare services, introduced to services within U-Turn, and to community resources. We provide opportunities for people to connect with others to share their experience and resources and receive mutual support in a safe environment.
From this central hub, we are able to connect people to the programs and services they need to move forward. In this, the Centre is consistently working longer term, helping those struggling with addiction to continue working toward recovery, improved wellness, and increased support systems.
We have served thousands of people since opening our doors in 2011. We continue striving to reach those who aren’t in recovery and serve those we work with more effectively, in concert with the support systems available across the province.
Through access to resources, community information presentations, and special events (such as the National Addictions Awareness Week Walk), we continue to educate and advocate within the larger community around issues related to drug use and addictions. We continue to combat the stigma attached to addiction and raise awareness that there is help in the community for those who struggle with the disease of addiction.
We invest time and energy to lend our experiences and expertise to important policy and systems change conversations at the local and provincial level, advocating for and impacting change on issues related to mental health and addictions. We are working collaboratively with community members, partners, and government to build better systems. We do this so that people in our community who are struggling with the disease of addiction have a voice and will have access to better services to meet their needs.
OUR IMPACT
Our work has given us shining examples of what’s possible when people have access to the programs and services they need to move beyond addiction toward their real potential. Read their stories of hope, courage and recovery.
OUR TEAM
Jeff Bourne
Executive Director
Jeff was hired as the Executive Director of the U-Turn Drop-in Centre in 2015. His work with U-Turn is supplemented with years of lived experience with addiction and recovery. He is a strong advocate for those who struggle with mental health and addiction issues, he continually lobbies government for better services in these areas and is often in the local media speaking on these issues. Jeff co-founded the U-Turn Drop-in Centre, is co-founder of Open Door Ministries Carbonear where he serves as a director, serves on the provincial government’s Recovery Council, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) Lived Experience Working Group and a number of other boards. Jeff has a certificate in Addiction Studies from Mount Royal University, a diploma in Ministry and Theological Studies from Queen’s College, and a number of other certificates that contribute to his work at U-Turn. In 2016, he was awarded the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) President’s Award. In 2017, he received The Queen’s College Alumni/ae Association Award for outstanding graduate in the Diploma in Theology and Ministry Program, and in 2012, along with his wife Tammy, was awarded Victoria Citizen of the Year.
Tammy Bourne
Peer Support Lead / In-House Bookkeeper
Tammy is a co-founder of the U-Turn Drop-in Centre and volunteers her time at U-Turn as Peer Support Lead. She has lived experience being married to an active addict who is now in recovery and has a passion for helping people seeking recovery from addiction. Tammy has a diploma in Computer Studies and Accounting, a certificate in Mental Health First Aid and a number of certificates in self-care. She has worked in various industries including banking and sales and managed operations within a number of departments for a large cargo company. In 2012, along with her husband Jeff, she was awarded Victoria Citizen of the year. Tammy enjoys painting beautiful scenery and spending quality time with her family.
OUR HISTORY
2006
Jeff Bourne, a recovering alcohol and drug addict, and pastor, Jesse Bown, form a partnership and a commitment to explore what could be done in the Trinity-Conception region in the face of a growing drug and addictions problem. It was soon realized that a missing piece in the addiction recovery process was a place to provide support to the addicted and their families while on their path to recovery.
2007
Representatives from Eastern Health mental health and addictions, clergy, recovering addicts, community members, social work, research, criminal justice and the RCMP come together to form the Community Awareness Addiction Committee
2011
The CAAC identifies need for addiction recovery supports and approaches government, who were more than willing to support a drop-in centre to connect addicts with health care providers, and to support addicts in their recovery post-treatment.
The Hon. Jerome Kennedy grants funding to open the U-Turn Drop-in Centre
U-Turn open its doors to the community, offering referrals to addiction services, advocacy, individual and family peer support, 12-step support groups, recovery education and sober recreation activities.
2015
Jeff Bourne becomes the Executive Director of U-Turn
2016
U-Turn partners with The Grace Centre to offer peer support at the addiction treatment facility.
In concert with National Addictions Awareness Week, U-Turn hosts its first community walk to raise awareness of addiction issues in the region, the first walk of its kind in rural Newfoundland.
2018
U-Turn is allocated $120,000 in the provincial budget to help expand its peer support services.
U-Turn moves into its new, much bigger home on Industrial Crescent in Carbonear
2019
U-Turn continues to be an active, thriving drop-in centre where hope, recovery and healing are found.