Overview

Portage offers comprehensive services for overcoming addiction within a continuum of care model. Its programs, which are based on the therapeutic community approach, encourage personal growth, and users to transform their lives.

Portage offers programs and services in Québec (Metropolitan Montréal, Québec City, Saint-Malachie, Beaconsfield, and Prévost), New Brunswick (Cassidy Lake, near Sussex), Ontario (Elora), and British Columbia (Keremeos).

The Portage Foundation, a charity that is registered with Revenue Canada, is the trustee of Portage’s assets, and ensures that the proceeds of fundraising campaigns and donations from private sources are used for the purposes that they were intended for, and in the provinces where they originate.

Over the years, Portage has developed separate programs for adults, adolescents, individuals with both mental health disorders and addiction problems, pregnant women and mothers accompanied by their young children.

Portage also offers two socio-occupational reintegration programs: an Employment Readiness Centre in Québec City; and the Movement for Integration and Retention in Employment (MIRE) in Montréal. These programs are aimed at developing personal and employment skills, and helping to equip individuals to make responsible choices.

Many Portage staff members are former users who are now highly effective role models, because a shared identity greatly facilitates the rehabilitation process. Staff training meets Therapeutic Communities of America standards, and employees benefit from continuing education.

Staff members work with educators and social workers. When appropriate, they can refer users to a range of professional resources, because they also work in partnership with a variety of health and social services providers.

Case management and individual planning are the foundation of the rehabilitation process. Family services form a key component of Portage’s rehabilitation program. Individual and group meetings provide family and friends with support. Aftercare services – individual follow-up and support groups – enable users retain what has been learned in therapy.