In the heart of our North Shore community, a tapestry of support and connection weaves together the lives of residents and local enterprises. It truly takes a village to create the vibrant atmosphere we cherish, where everyone plays a vital role in nurturing one another and fostering a sense of belonging.
From the compassionate efforts of Harvest Project, providing essential support through its food bank and charitable initiatives, to North Shore Mitsubishi, which welcomes new immigrants with open arms, our community thrives on inclusivity and care. CapU enriches our region with education and opportunity, empowering the next generation to make a difference. And let’s not forget the brave volunteers of North Shore Rescue, who
embody the spirit of service by risking their lives to keep us safe in times of need.
As we celebrate these incredible stories, we recognize that the strength of our community lies not just in individual accomplishments, but in the collective efforts that uplift us all. Together, we champion local causes, support one another in times of challenge, and create spaces where everyone can thrive.
This tribute to the North Shore community honours the spirit of collaboration and unity that makes our region exceptional. Together, we take pride in building a brighter future, knowing that it truly takes a village to create lasting change. ■
MATT BLAIR PUBLISHER
RSVP Beauty Clinic
RSVP Beauty Clinic delivers the highest quality aesthetic treatments in Vancouver
If you want to make enhancements to your face and body with minimally invasive procedures, medical aesthetics can help you achieve your desired look, and provide opportunities designed to revitalize your inner beauty, and your health and wellness, too. Plus—ultimately improve your self-esteem.
This encapsulates RSVP Beauty Clinic’s philosophy and approach, a medi-spa founded by specialist physician Dr. Giselle Villar. “It’s not just about looking better; it’s about feeling empowered.”
Dr. Villar boasts 13-plus years of exemplary experience in medical aesthetics, and 30 years as an anesthesiologist, which reflects her multifaceted approach to patient care.
“You feel empowered because you feel better about yourself,” she says. “You don’t have to look perfect; you have to feel good.”
The medi-spa is located in Yaletown in downtown Vancouver, with a new location in West Vancouver’s Caulfeild Village opening soon.
“At RSVP we don’t just offer treatments— we provide a journey toward rejuvenation and self-confidence. Whether you’re seeking a refreshed appearance or a boost to your well-being, our team of experienced professionals is here to guide you every step of the way.”
Dr. Villar performs procedures from non-invasive skin treatments to advanced laser therapies and the most up-to-date injectable techniques. She employs cutting-edge technology to ensure personalized results, where every treatment is crafted with precision, blending the art of aesthetics with the science of skincare.
Industry expertise, face procedures
As an industry leader (Dr. Villar was awarded Top Aesthetic Doctors – Canada and Top Skin Care Clinic – Vancouver in the 2023 Aesthetic Everything® Aesthetic and Cosmetic Medicine Awards), Dr. Villar can be trusted to provide the utmost in safety, professional and personalized experiences for all RSVP patients. Moreover, to add to her already impressive acumen, Dr. Villar launched RSVP Aesthetics Academy, where she provides
comprehensive training on Botox and dermal fillers to physicians and nurses. With a focus on innovation, Dr. Villar is well-versed in the MD Codes and other dermal filler techniques, ensuring precise placement of filler and Botox injections, and tailored aesthetic solutions to achieve optimal facial rejuvenation and results for all her patients.
The clinic’s state-of-the-art technology includes Secret Pro (microneedling, radiofrequency and CO2 laser), as well as minimally invasive Silhouette thread lifts, fully approved by Health Canada. Dr. Villar performs this highly-effective treatment involving special sutures to lift parts of the face and smooth out wrinkles; an excellent alternative to invasive facelifts, with relatively no downtime. For a quick and effective procedure to clear mild, moderate and severe acne outbreaks with real, lasting results, RSVP proudly offers AviClear, the first and original Health Canada-approved energy device that produces a clear and radiant complexion within three 30-minute treatment sessions.
“AviClear is the only treatment technology specific for acne,” says Dr. Villar. “There are no side effects and we can treat any age.”
Innovative technology, hair and body treatments
RSVP also specializes in EMFACE, a cuttingedge, clinically-proven, non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatment and EMSCULPTNEO, ground-breaking technology for body contouring and fat removal, plus, spa treatments including lymphatic drainage massage, HydraFacial and more.
In addition to Dr. Villar’s impressive credentials, she recently completed training in trichology and non-surgical hair restoration. A comprehensive range of non-surgical hair restoration options are available, from injectable peptides to platelet-rich plasma, exosomes, laser therapy, LED light therapy and hair loss medications.
To make an appointment, call 604-971-0855, or book online at rsvpbeautyclinic.com. ■
We believe everyone deserves to feel their best, and at RSVP, we make that happen in a relaxing, luxurious environment.
604.971.0855
rsvpbeautyclinic.com
info@rsvpbeautyclinic.com
DR. GISELLE VILLAR OWNER
Mike Danks
Mike Danks steps down as North Shore Rescue team leader
BY BRENT RICHTER
After 10 years as the face of North Shore Rescue, Mike Danks has stepped down.
Danks ceded his post after being promoted to be the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services chief. Longtime volunteer Scott Merriman was chosen by the team as Danks’ successor.
When Danks, a Lynn Valley resident, became the leader of North Shore Rescue a little more than a decade ago, it was sudden and not something he’d asked for. His predecessor Tim Jones died suddenly in January 2014, and Danks was still in grief for his mentor when he was asked to take over leadership. At the time, the number of people getting lost or injured on the North Shore’s trails was climbing and the volunteers were facing burnout.
“When I stepped into that team leader role, in my mind, I thought, No. 1, How are we going to maintain this level? And No. 2, How are we ever going to improve?” Danks said.
Whether he takes credit for it or not, Danks oversaw a period of rapid progress for the team, despite some tremendous challenges.
A decade of change
The record call volumes North Shore Rescue saw during the Tim Jones era were smashed when the pandemic came, but by then Danks had recalibrated how they responded to calls, sending fewer rescuers out per call and leaving more time for others to rest.
He prioritized training the next generation of search managers and specialists, and sought to make sure North Shore Rescue had access to cutting-edge tools such as drones, infrared cameras, motion sensors, and technology that allows rescuers to zero in on smartphones even if they are out of range of cell towers.
Under his leadership, the team became the first civilian rescue organization to have access to night-vision helicopters capable of quickly and safely hoisting
people out of danger in the dark. Their unique skillset and gear put them in high demand for assisting other teams around the province, including evacuating families from flooded homes during the 2021 atmospheric river.
North Shore Rescue now has an advanced medical team – doctors and nurses who bring the ER with them to the backcountry.
The team updated their backcountry rescue caches and helipads and built a brand new search and rescue base at Capilano Lake.
None of that comes cheap, and so Danks had to redouble his tap dancing for donations to keep the team funded. He’s also pushed for countless trail safety and public education campaigns to help ensure people enjoy the wilderness and get home without ever needing to call North Shore Rescue. That included twice allowing a documentary film crew to embed themselves with the rescuers for the Knowledge Network’s Search and Rescue: North Shore
Today, North Shore Rescue is the most advanced volunteer rescue outfit in Canada and among the best in the world. Danks, though, never misses an opportunity to acknowledge the rest of the team for any advancements they’ve made together.
“All of these ideas organically evolved amongst our membership and we just had the ability to push those through,” he said. “We’ve just progressed in so many ways, but that’s because we have a collective membership that is so passionate about progressing, and being the leaders.”
Not so glorious are the endless meetings and phone calls and behind-the-scenes administrative headaches, including skirmishes with the province when the bureaucracy was getting in the way of saving lives.
“I don’t know that you can put a set time or hours to it because it’s 24/7,” he said. “Everything you do relates to that position.”
Rescuing the rescuers
If there’s one change that Danks is most proud of, it’s very likely the way they
now approach the mental health of the volunteers.
The change came following a difficult stretch he went through himself in 2017 as the stress of leadership piled on a series of traumatic calls in the backcountry. Danks sought help and took resiliency training originally developed to protect the mental health of firefighters who deal with traumatic scenes daily, but it was easily adaptable for search and rescue purposes.
“It allowed me to accept that I wasn’t Tim and I didn’t need to try to be like him and I didn’t need to be at all the calls and I could let go a little bit,” he said. “That was a turning point for me, where I started really leading in my own way.”
Now every mission, especially the difficult ones, is followed up with checkins for the volunteers, because nothing works better to mitigate trauma than talking about it and processing it.
“The call volume was going up, the trauma that we were seeing was going up. We needed to be able to cope,” Danks said. “I think we’ve been in a really, really good place. We’ve been incredibly supportive of each other.”
Still a North Shore Rescue member
Danks has been a member of North Shore Rescue for the last 28 years and will remain a committed volunteer as a search manager and air operations co-ordinator. It’s both a passion and something he finds therapeutic.
“All of that [stress] goes out the window when we respond to these calls. Everything’s gone. Your main focus is how do we help that person?” he said. North Shore Rescue founding member Gerry Brewer said he has been proud of Danks through his tenure.
“He took over unexpectedly, so that was, to me, quite impressive.… With coaching and guidance and his own initiative and effort, he grew into the role to be very successful as a team leader,” he said. “And being successful as a team leader doesn’t mean just leading the team. It’s representing the team in any aspect of the team and its relationship with the community.”
Falkirk Environmental
This globally recognized environmental firm proudly calls North Vancouver home
Michael McPhie’s team didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they’re working to perfect it.
Five short years out from its inception as a small start-up, Falkirk Environmental Consultants is now growing exponentially and proud to call North Vancouver home. The company was recently acknowledged by the Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine as one of Canada’s top-growing companies and similarly by Business in Vancouver as the seventh fastest-growing company in the province.
The need to improve successful major resource project outcomes in the environmental, Indigenous engagement and permitting/regulatory spaces served as the catalyst to establish the firm. McPhie, an industry veteran, saw consultancies that specialized in some areas or were large multinationals with a general understanding of these areas but lacked the specialized knowledge and expertise needed to effectively advance resource projects forward in the complex and evolving world of major project development in the world today.
As such, McPhie along with founders, Jen Turner and Max Brownhill, both of whom call the North Shore home, and Christy Smith, who resides in her traditional lands of the K’omoks First Nation on Vancouver Island, started bringing together specialized team members under one roof.
The vision to build a best in class environmental, engineering and Indigenous engagement consultancy has resulted in Falkirk now being a preeminent national consulting firm that assists primarily resource (mining, energy and infrastructure) companies through regulatory and permitting processes. The company is a recognized leader in major project approvals including federal and provincial environmental assessments, water stewardship and water management, community health and well-being, human environment, operational compliance, sustainability and closure and reclamation planning.
“What we had found was that although the skills needed to advance major
resource projects existed out in the world, there was no one group that had the right mix of experience and professionals collectively to address key project issues,” McPhie explains “What we’ve tried to do is bring a group of people together that understand how to navigate that intersection of expertise in social, community, science, engineering and project development.”
Integral to Falkirk’s mission is supporting companies in their work with Indigenous communities: facilitating partnerships, designing and implementing engagement and reconciliation planning strategies and supporting long-term beneficial relationship building.
This commitment was pivotal during Falkirk’s work on the Cariboo Gold mine project near Quesnel, B.C. Having led the proponent’s environmental assessment, Falkirk was the first company to navigate newly implemented provincial Environmental Assessment Act while receiving investment and endorsement from local First Nations, regulatory bodies and the public at large.
It’s a process that can take upwards of 10 years – Falkirk, on the other hand, got it done in three.
Falkirk is also working to deliver a major win for North Shore residents through its work with U.S.-based firm Atlas Materials, a battery metals mineral processing company looking to build a new nickel and cobalt processing facility for electric vehicle batteries.
McPhie’s team has been working with Atlas and both the Canadian and U.S. governments for more than two years to find a home for the company’s new plant. Should Atlas choose North Vancouver, it will translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in investments locally, provincially and nationally.
“It’s a big deal and not just at a local level,” McPhie says. “This is the kind of project that potentially could provide a real boost to the electric car building effort on behalf of Canada.”
It’s this type of underlying commitment to people, the environment and to the nation that guides the Falkirk promise across any job its team undertakes.■
We want to contribute towards being a major employer in North Vancouver over the long term and a part of the business community here in a positive way for the long term.
MIKE MCPHIE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMEN AND FOUNDING PARTNER
604.366.6066
falkirk.ca
Info@falkirk.ca
PHOTO PAUL MCGRATH
Harvest Project
North Shore’s Harvest Project celebrates 31 years of offering a hand up
BY BRENT RICHTER
Poverty is a trap.
Once it’s got you, it holds tight and the odds of becoming selfsufficient again are stacked against you. It’s something David Foster experienced first-hand. The businessman from West Vancouver found success at a young age but fell on hard times, professionally and personally, and wound up living on the street.
With some help from local churches and charities, he got back on his feet, but came away from his experience seeing the gaps in the system. The non-profit he later founded is now marking 31 years of helping people from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay with a hand up.
“The Harvest Project was created, really out of the strength of his determination to make things better,” said Kevin Lee, development officer.
Decades of change
The Harvest Project’s first office opened in what was then the “rough” neighbourhood of Lower Lonsdale. They provided short-term assistance with groceries or finding a job, mostly on a drop-in basis. But the organization’s evolution came quickly.
Within a few years, the Harvest Project adopted a “client care” model that looks at people in need of help holistically and aims to address areas of concern across their lives. Rather than just a basket of goods, clients get monthly check-ins with a case manager. Together, they set goals, review progress and adjust services accordingly, with compassion and dignity in mind.
As a whole, the North Shore has become wealthier since 1993, but not everyone has enjoyed the abundance, Lee notes, sadly.
“I would say extremely so,” Lee said, adding poverty remains “painfully present.”
In 1993, helping someone to find a rental apartment at a price they could afford was doable.
“Now, of courses, that’s a dream,” Lee said. “Many of those folks are simply not keeping up with the economic rigour of our current society.”
Perhaps most concerning though, Lee said, is the number of clients who suffer from social isolation, which is itself a crisis in public health. Perhaps one of the Harvest Project’s most important strengths is knowing how to greet them, Lee said.
“The Harvest Project exists to welcome the stranger – welcome and listen to the person who is isolated, who doesn’t have a connection in the community and doesn’t have resources in the community and who really needs to be seen and heard,” he said.
Bountiful harvest
Inside the Harvest Project’s Norgate office, there is a makeshift supermarket stocked with healthy foods for clients who need help with groceries. There’s a nutritionist on staff who can help advise clients on meals that will leave them not just with a full tummy, but in better health overall. They’ve formed partnerships with dentists who provide care for those who otherwise could not afford it. There’s a thrift shop inside where clients can keep themselves appropriately clothed. There is art therapy that provides a salve for mental health.
They estimate there are about 500 folks on the North Shore who remain housed today because of the Harvest Project’s rent bank, which offers zero-interest loans to people who are falling behind in rent, or by helping them secure an apartment with first and last months’ rent and a damage deposit.
Hand up, not a hand out
West Vancouver resident Sara (not her real name) said she was grateful to receive the broad array of help when she was referred to the non-profit. In 2021, she was facing a family crisis, eviction and isolation leaving her with no one else she could turn to.
The Harvest Project kept Sara and her daughter from homelessness and hunger, which she remains grateful for, but
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Sara emphasized the importance of the compassionate approach the staff and volunteers demonstrated with her.
“From the first experience, I really liked them. They are very supportive, very kind,” said the single mom from West Vancouver. “I feel welcomed. I feel like they see me, they know me.”
In keeping with their “hand up, not hand out” mission, clients of the Harvest Project do eventually graduate and no longer need their services. Lee said the average duration in their program is less than two years.
None of it would be possible without gracious donors. From an operating budget of $1.5 million this year, less than $100,000 will be from government sources. The rest comes from North Shore households, businesses as well as religious and community groups who know of the Harvest Project’s good work and want to share in their success.
Among their generous regular donors is North Vancouver’s Bryan Adams, who has told them if the Harvest Project existed when he was young, his family would have needed them.
Next year’s harvest
The charity is always on the lookout for volunteers, and one of those most reliable groups to offer their services, Lee said, are past clients.
That’s precisely what Sara has in mind. “I am about to graduate this month. It was a hard decision to make but I feel I accomplished what I needed over these two years and maybe I need to be more independent,” she said. “In the future, I have the intention to volunteer.”
Stories like Sara’s are what Foster sought for the Harvest Project when he founded the non-profit 31 years ago. Foster died in 2022.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Harvest Project, the non-profit collected photos and stories from clients, graduates, volunteers and donors, which were incorporated into a digital mosaic. The mosaic is now available for viewing on the Harvest Project’s website. ■
PHOTOS
North Shore Mitsubishi
North Shore Mitsubishi’s people-centric approach and exclusive perks guide your next vehicle purchase with ease
Though sales consultants by title, think of Matt Clapperton’s team at North Shore Mitsubishi as equal parts problem solvers, day planners and educators.
But above all else, Clapperton’s team works tirelessly to become an extension of your family.
“Most times customers aren’t even shopping for the vehicle, brand or the price, they’re shopping for a good salesperson who is going to take care of them and who they trust, like and respect,” says Clapperton, the dealership’s general manager. “We want to get to know the customer on a personal level, because it’s not just about selling them a car – it’s about making a friend.”
It’s a level of customer commitment that extends across all corners of the North Shore and its myriad of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
To that end, North Shore Mitsubishi proudly acknowledges the community’s diverse demographics and aims to assist the many newcomers facing credit challenges. The dealership offers an exceptional newcomer credit program to address those issues and provides guaranteed approval as long as applicants can prove employment and have a small down payment. It’s a program that’s helped numerous newcomers secure financing for their vehicle purchases.
“A lot of people don’t have the cash to simply buy a $30,000 or $40,000 vehicle, so they need financing,” Clapperton says. “But unfortunately in our country, it’s very, very difficult to do when you don’t have an established credit history and that takes years to establish. We’re happy to help customers overcome those challenges.”
And when it comes time to acquire what will likely be the second-biggest
purchase for a family, the 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is at once practical, affordable and eco-friendly.
These plug-in hybrids come with incentives galore: a $5,000 government rebate; a $1,000 winter tire rebate; a further $1,000 loyalty rebate for simply owning another Mitsubishi vehicle and an enticing 4.49 interest rate.
Clapperton owns one himself and charges it twice weekly, while fuelling up biweekly to get him through two-hour daily commutes with ease.
“While the fuel economy is fantastic in an electric vehicle, you do get a little bit limited on the capability side – if you want to go a longer road trip, you’re kind of stuck,” Clapperton says. “Whereas with the plug-in hybrid, you get the best of both worlds.”
Beyond getting you in your newest Mitsubishi, Clapperton’s team takes care of virtually every area of upkeep.
With a fully functioning parts and service department, North Shore Mitsubishi caters to the maintenance needs of all makes and models.
It’s a service that comes with a complimentary wash and vacuum, along with free lifetime car washes for customers who purchase vehicles from the dealership.
Mitsubishi also stands out with its generous 10-year warranty, double the industry standard, reinforcing its commitment to customer satisfaction and product reliability.
And then there’s the company’s commitment to all things furry and four legged.
“Pets are considered part of the family these days for a lot of people and we love seeing customers come in with their pets,” Clapperton says. ■
Most times customers aren’t even shopping for the vehicle, brand or the price, they’re shopping for a good salesperson who is going to take care of them and who they trust, like and respect.
MATT CLAPPERTON GENERAL MANAGER
PHOTO PAUL MCGRATH
Nanette Taylor
After helping thousands of desperate kids, North Shore Youth Safe House co-founder retires
BY BRENT RICHTER
When the knock comes at the door of the North Shore Youth Safe House, a young person’s life is at a critical inflection point.
Now, 20 years after co-founding Hollyburn Community Services Society, which has kept thousands of kids out of homelessness and guided them toward stable lives, executive director Nanette Taylor has retired.
Taylor had already spent half her working life in the Ministry of Children and Family Development where she saw first-hand, the holes in the safety net.
As a result, in 2004, she co-founded the society, which launched the North Shore Youth Safe House as one of its first initiatives.
Since then, about 100 kids per year have come seeking shelter at the Maplewood area house. Sometimes it’s because they’ve got disagreements with their parents at home, which can be dealt with through Hollyburn’s parenting mediation.
But many times, when there is family violence or neglect, Hollyburn steps up in a much larger ways. After the kids get a full tummy and warm place to sleep, Hollyburn’s staff connect them with services that help them find transitional housing, continue their education, find employment and develop important life skills.
“So we end up being that wraparound, pseudo-parent that keeps them moving on and supports them so that they develop some confidence and some self-esteem and can actually become truly functional adults,” Taylor said.
many, many success stories.”
Taylor, though, shudders to think what would have come for those youths had there not been Hollyburn and its web of services available. More than a few times, it became a mad scramble to find donors to keep the house going when government funding was clawed back.
“There would have been many, many more homeless youth who probably would gravitate down to the Downtown Eastside,” she said.
Once hopelessness and destitution set in, “it’s very hard to bring them back,” she added.
Society grows to help North Shore’s vulnerable
While the safe house provides a soft landing for a kid about to hit the streets, Taylor also helped grow Hollyburn’s mandate to include services for those fleeing domestic violence, victims of crime, and seniors facing homelessness. The society’s first purpose-built affordable housing project, 86-units in Delbrook, is well on its way.
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Nobody ever thinks that such a well-to-do community would have homeless seniors, but we do ... So the mission always was and still is serving vulnerable citizens on the North Shore.
NANETTE TAYLOR CO-FOUNDER HOLLYBURN COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY
Youth arriving at the door today are presenting with higher levels of anxiety and depression, with stresses that go beyond their strife at home – climate change, social media, isolation.
Many past clients of the safe house have gone on to university and careers in the trades and tech. Taylor is aware of one who is training to become a medical doctor.
“These kids, in some cases, end up making more money than people who are helping them,” she said. “There are
“Nobody ever thinks that such a wellto-do community would have homeless seniors, but we do,” she said. “So the mission always was and still is serving vulnerable citizens on the North Shore.”
Nothing would have made Taylor happier than to retire because Hollyburn simply wasn’t needed anymore, but sadly that will likely never be the case.
As the housing affordability crisis has become more dire, it’s made Hollyburn’s mission all the more important and difficult. And funding to keep the critical services going is always precarious.
Those are trials that will have to be met by Mark Friesen, Hollyburn’s new executive director, whom Taylor has wholeheartedly endorsed.
Despite the challenges leadership of a non-profit like Hollyburn must face, Taylor assures it has always been deeply meaningful work.
“Particularly with youth, there’s a lot of hope there, and if you can tap into that, then there is nothing that feels so wonderful as those kids turning around and telling you that you made a difference,” she said, adding that thanks are owed to all of Hollyburn’s staff who have stepped up. “It totally warms your heart. There’s just nothing else kind of touches it in the same way.” ■
Hollyburn Family Services Society’s proposed four-storey building for 600 West Queens Rd PHOTO INTEGRA ARCHITECTURE
Orchard Recovery Centre
Bowen Island recovery campus transforms lives for the better
The father who has his daughter back.
The wife who gets the man she married back.
The parent who comes to treatment, showing their child that reaching out for help is a sign of strength.
These life-changing moments are what drive everything at the Orchard Recovery Center.
“How addiction or alcoholism is portrayed in the media is not helpful,” shares cofounder and executive director Lorinda Strang. “I don’t know if they ever show anything other than the most dire situations you can see. What that does is give people this false sense of ‘That’s not me’.’”
“We hear all the time, ‘I realize now, I wasn’t living—I was just hanging on, desperate for something to change. When I made the decision to come to the Orchard, I found hope,’” Strang says “The depth of what those words actually mean is so powerful.”
Orchard Recovery is a private inpatient drug and alcohol addiction treatment centre located in the heart of a West Coast rainforest on Bowen Island. Formerly a four-star resort, the recovery campus and residences feature customized treatment solutions over the course of 12, 28 or 42 days.
The heart of Orchard’s success lies in its dedicated team, working together to provide compassionate, personalized care. With only 25 clients at a time, Orchard ensures that each individual receives focused attention. The medical team includes a psychiatrist, along with doctors who are all addiction medicine specialists, supported by nursing staff, recovery coaches, clinical counsellors and other support staff. This multidisciplinary approach allows for a holistic recovery experience, helping clients regain a sense of hope, purpose and stability as they learn to live in sobriety.
Private and peaceful, Orchard Recovery Centre offers its clients compassionate
care and a strong foundation for their journey ahead.
The programs include primary care, family programming and continuing care for post-treatment support. Delicious and wholesome meals are provided by Orchard’s first-rate chefs, while the numerous onsite activities include nature walks, mindfulness practices, yoga, art and music therapy, alongside a fully equipped gym and fitness centre.
“When clients arrive on Bowen, they feel an immediate sense of relief and reassurance,” Strang says. “Part of that is the short ferry ride from the mainland, because it creates a natural boundary from the daily distractions and temptations of life. The chaos of life starts to lift.”
Operating since 2002, the centre is internationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and licensed by Vancouver Coastal Health. These two distinctions ensure that rigorous standards are upheld and improved upon annually.
Strang emphasizes that the clients and alumni come from diverse backgrounds, including professionals from law, healthcare, business, trades and university students. Orchard serves both local and international clients, reflecting a wide range of people seeking help. When clients experience a moment of clarity and realize, ‘I need help,’ Orchard staff are ready to take the phone call or email to help begin their life-changing journey. An intake specialist then works with clients and, when helpful, with family members to answer questions and offer guidance, ensuring the client feels supported and reassured as they take the next steps toward recovery.
“That’s when we do the heavy lifting,” Strang says. “It’s our job to get them to a point where they’ve got buy-in. And when they want to be here, they get excited to be here.”
To learn more about Orchard Recovery Centre, visit orchardrecovery.com. ■
Treatment is a life-changing gift you give yourself, bringing hope and relief not only to you but also to those who love you.
LORINDA STRANG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER
604.947.0420
orchardrecovery.com
intake@orchardrecovery.com
PHOTO PAUL MCGRATH
Don Peters
Longtime North Shore housing advocate stepping down
BY BRENT RICHTER
For the last 16 years, if it had to do with affordable housing on the North Shore, Don Peters was front and centre.
Now, the 80-something-year-old chair of the North Shore Community Resource Society’s Community Housing Action Committee has stepped down. The committee was founded in 2002 on the premise that every community should be able to house residents who aren’t wealthy.
Peters began volunteering for the group soon after, “not knowing affordable housing from my elbow,” he says. One of his first assignments was going to the three municipalities as a representative of the North Shore Homelessness Task Force. He remembers a particularly frosty reception from one District of West Vancouver council member, telling him he had “some nerve” raising the issue in West Van. But Peters persisted, building relationships with a range of politicians, planners, developers and non-profits. Peters has often been among the first to sign up to speak before the three North Shore councils whenever a project or policy is on the agenda that could move the needle on affordability. But much of the work is done behind the scenes to ensure new developments and policies have affordability built into them before they even land on the council agenda.
Controversy
Speaking up in favour of more housing and cheaper rents hasn’t done much for Peters’ popularity, he admits, especially when so many of his peers aren’t themselves in need of affordable housing. When District of North Vancouver council members were considering a sixstorey below-market housing project on the parking lot of the Delbrook Lands, it was close to home – quite literally the lot next to his own building. His neighbours resented him for urging council to vote in favour.
“They wouldn’t speak to me, they were so
goddamned mad,” he said. Council voted the project down in 2018. Each of the North Shore councils has made decisions that have made him proud of CHAC’s lobbying, as well as decisions that have left him with regret.
In 2019, District of North Vancouver council voted to cut its core funding for CHAC, which Peters said was political retribution for CHAC’s advocacy on the redevelopment of the Lynn Valley townhouse complex Emery Village. The debate over the project centered mainly around demovictions. Peters said CHAC’s support was for the inclusion of new rentals and below-market homes, which at the time were hardly ever before council. Looking back, he wishes more had been done for the existing tenants. Advocating for compensation and relocation support for tenants is now a big part of what CHAC does.
“I wish we could turn back the clock on an Emery Village but we can’t. It’s a deep regret of mine that we were just at the beginning of understanding really how bad it was out there,” he said.
Redemption
Two years after they rejected the proposal for the Delbrook parking lot, district council voted to rezone it for affordable housing and in 2021, they inked deals with a non-profit developer and the province which kicked in capital funding. Today though, it’s still a construction site.
“It’s a bloody shame that we had to go four years or five years … when we actually could be operating it right now,” he said. “It’s not only a success story, but it’s a failure story.”
Giving credit where it’s due, Peters praises the same council members for their unanimous vote to build a sixstorey supportive housing building on Keith Road, despite steep community opposition.
“That took guts,” he said.
Housing for all
Mostly, Peters has reserved CHAC’s advocacy for the developers and decision
I wish we could turn back the clock on an Emery Village but we can’t ... It’s a deep regret of mine that we were just at the beginning of understanding really how bad it was out there.
DON PETERS
FORMER CHAIR, NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY RESOURCE SOCIETY’S COMMUNITY HOUSING ACTION COMMITTEE
makers who need to hear it, but the intent has always been to benefit the North Shore as a whole, even those who don’t agree. Like a lot of his golfing buddies, Peters has had to watch his adult children move their families away to other parts of the province in search of housing options they could afford.
“It breaks up neighbourhoods. It breaks up families. And when these young people have to move away, they take with them all of that stuff that they carry with them, what they’ve learned, and what they’ve become as people,” he said. “That kind of mini tragedy here happens a hell of a lot.”
That’s what’s kept him driven doing the job into his 80s, he said.
Home prices are higher than they’ve ever been. Housing laws are changing. More people are coming. North Shore Community Resource Society has picked Jacob Isaac to replace Peters as CHAC chairman.
Executive director Murray Mollard said they understand what’s at stake and know when to use quiet diplomacy and when to use more force.
“Our job is to make sure these relationships pay dividends for people’s homes, ultimately,” Mollard said. ■
Scott Merriman
Meet North Shore Rescue’s new team leader
BY BRENT RICHTER
Scott Merriman has been helping North Shore Rescue since before he even joined the team.
On a trek to Crown Mountain more than a dozen years ago, some hikers came upon backpacks, seemingly abandoned along the trail – often a sign of trouble in the backcountry.
Sufficiently worried that someone was in need of help, Merriman called 911 and was eventually put on the phone with legendary North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones, who began mobilizing a search. It turned out to be a false alarm, but the call proved fateful.
“It was my first unofficial introduction to the team and it looked like kind of a neat thing to get involved with,” he said. “I liked the outdoors and what better way to merge the outdoors with giving back to the community.”
Merriman, who has been a member of North Shore Rescue for the last 13 years, was officially named the new team leader earlier this year following the departure of Mike Danks.
Like a lot of rescuers, Merriman still feels that compulsion to help like he did with the abandoned backpack.
“We don’t always have good outcomes, but it certainly feels good when you can reunite somebody with their loved one,” said the electrical engineer from Deep Cove.
In his years as a volunteer, Merriman has been promoted up to a search manager and air operations co-ordinator. If you’ve familiar with images of rescuers dangling on a long line below a helicopter, there’s a good chance one of those rescuers was him.
When Danks alerted the team members he would be stepping down, Merriman said he gave in to the “peer pressure” –encouragement from Danks and others – to take on leadership of the team.
For the time being, Merriman said he is still working with Danks to make a smooth transition, and he wants to keep North Shore Rescue on the same trajectory that Danks had it –acquiring new technology and skillsets
for the team, renewing their aging infrastructure and taking care of the members.
“I think he’s left it in a in a good place,” he said. “We’ve really progressed in the last 10 years and I’m looking to continue that.”
Danks said he felt some hesitation about his time as leader coming to an end, but Merriman volunteering for the role put his worries to rest.
“We’ve had a number of younger members – really, really solid members – that just can’t afford to live here, and so we’ve lost them,” he said. “There may be times when we don’t have as many members available on a given call that we might need.”
My hope was that it would be someone that I had seen develop over the years and would have a very similar vision ... I think Scott is that person and I’m very confident that he will continue to keep the team progressing in many, many ways.
MIKE DANKS FORMER NORTH SHORE RESCUE TEAM LEADER
“My hope was that it would be someone that I had seen develop over the years and would have a very similar vision,” he said. “I think Scott is that person and I’m very confident that he will continue to keep the team progressing in many, many ways. And he brings a whole new level of energy into that position, so I’m excited for the future.”
The team is facing new challenges that Merriman will have to tackle as leader. As the older generation of volunteers ages out of active service, Merriman will have to see younger members trained up to replace them. And because of the rising cost of housing on the North Shore, that’ s becoming harder to do.
As he becomes the new face of B.C.’s most prominent mountain rescue team, Merriman acknowledged that none of their good work would be possible without the support the North Shore community offers them. Both the financial donations and the good will keep the team going, Merriman said, adding it is never taken for granted.
“It does mean a lot to our members to be supported by the community,” he said.” ■
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I see a tremendous opportunity on the North Shore for learners from B.C. and beyond to connect more deeply with the places where they live and learn.
