By the time this story goes live, Arrow Home, UGM’s Women’s Recovery home in Victoria, will have been in operation for nine months. Which feels like an appropriate time to check in on how the home’s mothers and infants are doing.
“We've had two participants graduate from the program with their babies,” shares Bonny, Supervisor at Arrow Home. “Currently we have one mother and baby on site, and then we also have a mom who is pregnant with twins, and she's excited to deliver within the next three to four weeks.”
At Arrow Home, women are given the time, space, and support they need to build their parenting skills as well as their recovery practices. “Our programming focuses on darning the holes of addiction and its impacts on participants’ minds, bodies, and spirits,” says Bonny. “We start each day with mindfulness and a gratitude circle. Participants can then work on curriculum materials with their Case Manager, and attend mom groups in the community. They also attend outside recovery meetings each week, so they can start to build a support group of other people seeking recovery.”
A large part of Arrow Home’s programming is facilitated by the peaceful domestic environment, where women are invited into communal meals and gardening in the spring and summer months. “It's a beautiful place,” says Bonny of the home. “We're surrounded by Garry oak trees, and in the fall we got some great photos of the babies in the leaves. The inside of the home has been renovated with beautiful, calming colours. It's a very welcoming space. I love coming to work.”
That tranquility and sense of community is intentional. “The feedback we’ve gotten is that women feel like this is their home,” explains Bonny. “It’s not institutional — women participate in baking, meals are eaten together. In every aspect it’s like a home, and some of these women haven’t had a home for a very long time.”
Along with offering women a sense of calm and belonging, the programming is filling a very real need. “It’s so crucial that moms can have a safe space to learn about parenting, that they can make mistakes in a supportive environment,” says Bonny. “There are so few resources for women in Victoria, and fewer for moms seeking a new way of life with their young ones. We need to fill that niche if we want to see our society flourish.”
Arrow Home is a place where everyone, whether infant or parent, is on a path of discovery. “Just watching the moms and their babies, it brings such joy to all of us here,” says Bonny. “Seeing every stage of development, both with the mom in their recovery journey, but also with the babies and how they're developing in this nurturing, safe environment — it's really touching. It really is.”
Read Monica’s story to see how a residential recovery experience can change lives.
