“Dramatic changes are taking place in the field of addictions,” says Major Tom Tuppenney, a social-services consultant for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. Major Tuppenney’s specialty is behavioural health, which takes in addictions, mental health and developmental disabilities.

Salvation Army addiction programs have been in place in Canada for almost a century. The Army runs addictions facilities from coast to coast, ranging from stand-alone Harbour Light treatment programs, whose main focus is addiction treatment and recovery, to multi-use centres like Centre Of Hope in Calgary, which have addictions programs in place.

Addiction treatment is starting to come of age, he notes. In the last few years, evidence-based/best-practice materials have been developed for use in addictions treatment. “As well,” continues Major Tuppenney, “we are now looking at competencies for people working in the addictions field. For a number of years, The Salvation Army has looked at accrediting all of our social-service programs, the addiction ones included, but now I can see in the future the possibility of that happening on a government-wide basis.”

Key to any rehabilitation, of course, is spiritual recovery. “Addiction affects a person’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual makeup,” says Major Tuppenney, “so to work only on one or two or three areas of a person’s life to help them to get back on their feet and not deal with the whole person is dealing with less than one hundred percent of the problem.”

Major Tuppenney hopes that in a year’s time, the Army will be at a point where all of our programs are not only based on the Scriptures, a relationship with God and the 12 Steps but also use evidence-based/best-practice materials. Staff will also be familiar with those types of therapies and modalities. The goal is to raise the standard, so that we provide our clients with the best possibility for recovery. “And, you know, the best outcome is when somebody overcomes an addiction and regains control of their life,” continues Major Tuppenney.

Major Tuppeney speaks from a wealth of experience. For over two and a half decades, he has worked in the addictions field, at Harbour Light centres in Winnipeg, Toronto and Detroit. As a regional consultant for social services, he is currently responsible for the regions of Quebec, the Maritimes and Newfoundland/Labrador. “It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy it. It’s hard work, but I continue to learn every day. It’s difficult at times to see people who don’t make it. There are a lot of folk who don’t get that second or third or fourth chance because drugs take their lives, but it’s absolutely phenomenal to see someone move beyond the addiction and gain a life they never thought possible. They see they can handle life when God comes into the picture. He gives them the power and the strength and the trust that they can use to deal with it.”

by Ken Ramstead