CURRIER: The Bruce Oake Recovery Centre ‘turns tragedy into a measure of hope’

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In the gym, at the location of a former rink in Crestview, hang 120 Winnipeg Jets jerseys. They bear the names of men who have achieved a year of sobriety through the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. In their three and half years of operation, more than 400 men have graduated from the 50-bed facility.

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The Bruce Oake Recovery Centre is named after the son of renowned broadcaster Scott Oake, his late wife Anne, and the brother of world-famous magician Darcy Oake.

The struggles to build the facility have been well documented. Oake knew he was in for a fight.

“You have to expect pushback,” he said. The rink where the Centre now stands was boarded up for years, deemed as a troubled area. “If you wanted to score dope in Crestview, that’s where you went,” Oake said.

The Centre was not the disaster critics had predicted. To the contrary, it has transformed lives and helped many appreciate what addiction is. Some who were opposed to the project have now put in volunteer hours at the Centre.

“Addiction is not a moral failing. It is a disease,” Oake said, and he knows all about that after losing his son to addiction. “The men in the centre are focused on one thing: Their sobriety.”

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Oake has written about his family story in a book to be released this coming week titled: For the Love of a Son. A private event will be held on Monday at the Centre that will be hosted by former CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge. The official book launch will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson and will be hosted by another CBC legend, Shelagh Rogers.

Funds from the book will go to the Bruce and Anne Oake Foundation. It was Anne’s wish that a facility be built for women and the capital campaign is about halfway to achieving its goal of $25 million.

The Province has acquired a piece of land near the Victoria Hospital to accommodate the new facility. Oake credits Premier Wab Kinew for his support of the project. It will be named the Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre in honour of Scott’s wife, the mother of Bruce and Darcy Oake.

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There is a sliding scale for those who enter the Recovery Centre. Rates are based on income, but no one is turned away if they cannot afford to pay for treatment. Recovering addicts are given a counsellor for life due to the ongoing support needed for recovery from any addiction. Addicts will always refer to themselves as being in recovery, no matter how long they have been sober.

For the Oake family, the goal became clear after losing one of their own: “Turn tragedy into a measure of hope.”

Scott and Anne made the conscious decision to take their son’s death and make something positive of it. After they grieved, they decided to help others reclaim their lives.

Oake’s career serves as a backdrop for the book, but the main focus is his family — the loss of his son and the resolve to help other families avoid a similar tragedy.

As for the jerseys that hang in the gym at the Bruce Oake Centre — they are highly prized by clients. They represent healing and progress. They are something tangible.

“Those sweaters mean more to these men than to the guys who wear them in games,” Oake said.

— Geoff Currier is a former Winnipeg broadcaster.

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