ELORA –` The Cody Shepperd Memorial Golf Tournament, held on Sept. 12 at WildWinds Golf Club, raised $17,850 for Portage Elora, a youth addiction residential facility.
Proceeds from this year’s tournament will go to the youth treatment fund.
This funding allows Portage to make additional residential treatment beds available to youth at the Elora Centre.
As a result of this donor-supported fund, more than 150 youth have had the chance to turn their lives around at Portage.
In Ontario, there are long waiting lists for the residential treatment beds that are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Faced with a child in crisis and needing access to residential treatment, most families have no option other than to join the list and wait for a bed to become available, states a press release from the Cody Shepperd Project.
Last year the average wait time for a residential youth treatment bed in Ontario was four months – an eternity for a young person and a family in crisis. As each day passes, the risk of irreparable harm increases, the press release states.
“Without immediate treatment, the addiction and delinquent behavior are likely to spiral further out of control and possibly result in arrest, criminal charges, jail time, overdose or death,” it states.
The cost of residential programs range upwards of $300 per day – beyond the realm of possibility to pay out-of-pocket for many of the families most in need of Portage’s help.
The Portage Ontario Youth Treatment Fund is used to help those youth deemed most at risk if treatment is delayed by providing additional capacity at Portage and faster access to treatment for kids and families deemed most at risk.
Organizers of the Cody Shepperd Project thanked their sponsors in the release. They include:
– Platinum Sponsor: Well Initiatives Limited;
– Gold Sponsor: The Frasson Family;
– Silver Sponsor: Aecon Construction;
– Silver Sponsor: Randy Mullin;
– Bronze Sponsor: Rhya Watson; and
– Bronze Sponsor: The Mooney Family.
They also thanked the many hole sponsors, volunteers and golfers.
Darcie Shepperd (Cody’s mother) states, “Without you we could not make this tournament as great as it is.
“Not only does the project thank you, Centre Wellington thanks you. We are making great strides supporting mental health in our community, and together we can keep that momentum going.”
