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Recovery Acres Calgary Society hoping to add more beds with annual fundraiser
Recovery Acres Calgary Society is hoping an upcoming fundraiser will help dozens of women waiting for treatment.
Officials at a Calgary addictions recovery centre are hoping an upcoming fundraiser will help dozens of women waiting for treatment.
Recovery Acres Calgary Society (RACS) is holding its 28th annual Charity Golf Tournament at Wintergreen Golf & Country Club in Bragg Creek on Monday, Aug. 18.
Proceeds from the tournament will go toward an expansion that includes a new 26-bed women's residential facility, part of a multi-phase capital plan that would ultimately replace and upgrade all three of its buildings.
The tournament has raised more than $1.5 million to support the centre's programs and upgrades over nearly three decades.
For peer-support worker Makaela Smith, the expansion could be life saving for women still waiting for treatment.
Smith will mark three years sober in December after completing Recovery Acres' program in 2022.
'I am a person in recovery myself,' she said. 'I went through the Recovery Acres program and it was pivotal for me to have this place; a place to heal, to learn the tools to live life.'
'Because of Recovery Acres, I am a mother to my four beautiful children today. I am an active member in society and a person in recovery, and that's a result of this place. This is what Recovery Acres does. It reunites families.'
Smith says the need is urgent.
'People are dying. That is the result of these long wait lists,' she said. 'Women are dying, men are dying; there's not enough beds within the community. The wait list is not manageable.'
Recovery Acres executive director Stian Rorstad says the women's program began with eight beds in 2022 and filled to capacity quickly.
'On our opening day, we had 50 women on our wait list with only eight beds to help them,' he said.
'We still have wait lists of dozens of women to get into this program. A person could wait upwards to six weeks at times in order to be able to access a bed.'
'Asking for help, that's a huge first step,' Rorstad added. 'But it's also very important to strike when that iron is hot, and the real danger there is that people can die while on a wait list.'
Fund development manager Jason Quilley says the tournament's proceeds will be directed to the women's building.
He notes that roughly $6 million is needed to upgrade the Recovery Acres Society facility located at 1835 27 Ave. S.W.
Design renderings show a three-phase plan: first, a new 26-bed women's facility. Second, a 40-bed men's building to replace the old one, and third, renovating the historic 1835 house into shared program and resource spaces.
'I owe my life to this place, and it's my purpose and my passion to give back,' said Quilley, who completed the Recovery Acres program himself.
'Sometimes the phone can seem like it weighs 4,000 pounds, and it's hard to ask for help, but if you reach out someone will answer, someone will be there for you, and we want to continue being there for those in need.'
Urgent need underscored by opioid crisis
The fundraiser comes as Alberta continues to report hundreds of opioid-related deaths each year.
In 2023, Alberta recorded 1,873 opioid-related deaths, which was a record-breaking year.
In 2024, those numbers decreased significantly to 1,182, but 405 deaths have occurred from January to April 2025 so far.
Calgary alone recorded 626 deaths in 2023, 284 in 2024 and 62 from January to April 2025.
The numbers are staggering, but people like Smith say real people are behind those figures and those who seek help deserve a new lease on life.
'The opposite of addiction is connection,' said Smith.
'Addiction is lonely, but in recovery we find community, we find people who care and there is a whole community waiting to help.'
Recovery Acres Calgary since 1973 has supported more than 16,000 people in receiving help at its facility.
Registration, sponsorships, prize donations and direct contributions to the expansion can be made through the society's website or by contacting the organization.
