Blog

Last fall, Evan and Sharlene were invited by the youth philanthropy class at Frances Kelsey Secondary, to talk about Umbrella, the clients we serve and share our experiences. The class had invited several organizations and had the difficult task of selecting who would re...

Our good friends at She Recovers are hosting a Yoga and Connection event on June 17 here in Victoria. If you aren't familiar with She Recovers, please have a look at their intentions and guiding principles. For more information about this upcoming event, exciting retreat...

Last week, at the Songhees Wellness Centre, AVI hosted a community collaboration to discuss the overdose crisis. The forum consisted of people with lived experience, family members and service providers from Victoria. In addition to breakout groups, there was a panel of ...

Yesterday, Evan and Conor from Umbrella joined youth from all over the island at the Balancing our Minds Conference at Bear Mountain Arena. The youth were very engaging, curious and interested in Umbrella and addiction. Many great conversation and interactions were had!...

Kindness and compassion are ageless and secular. That’s what Island Health’s Mental Health Substance Use (MHSU) Advisory Committee discovered when considering nominations for its awards program. Both of this year’s recipients responded with dignity and fairness to the...

Today, a young girl gave us this card she made. We had helped her dad a few years ago. A genuine and heartfelt reminder to never give up on anyone. Ever.

Today is Administrative Professionals Day, and Umbrella happens to have THE BEST admin person working with us. Bronwyn is a true gift to the team, clients and the community. She is the backbone of our organization and she keeps all of us on track. We are grateful to have ...

Last night was the first of eight sessions of the Community Volunteer Training Program. This program is a partnership between Umbrella and Coolaid's REES program, fully funded by the United Way. We offer this program twice a year, spring and fall. If you are currently ...

On April 1, 2015 Umbrella took over the operations of a men's recovery house known as Foundation House. We have made some improvements, made some changes and added a huge dose of love! Since we took over, we have helped almost 40 men and one beautiful, but very frightene...

Today was an amazing afternoon at Umbrella! We asked a long time friend of Umbrella, Graydon, to facilitate a workshop on boundaries, work/life balance, recovery, self care and more. What a great team building session and opportunity for sharing and support. We are all...