Poundmaker’s Lodge Day Program Closes with Call for Continued Addiction Treatment Funding

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – A program created to keep addiction treatment accessible after a 2025 fire has now closed, with Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centres saying the loss of ongoing provincial funding has left an important gap for urban Indigenous people seeking culturally grounded care.

In a statement, Poundmaker’s Lodge announced the closure of its Day Program, saying it was “with great sadness” that the service was ending because of the absence of ongoing provincial funding to sustain it.

Poundmaker’s Lodge has provided Indigenous-focused addiction treatment since 1973, when a group of Indigenous people came together to address the impacts of alcohol and drug use in their communities. The organization began with a 14-bed program in Edmonton before eventually moving to its current treatment centre near St. Albert, located on the former site of the Edmonton Indian Residential School. Named after Chief Poundmaker, Pitikwahanapiwiyin, the organization continues to combine addiction treatment with Indigenous culture, traditional teachings and ceremony.

The Day Program emerged after a fire forced Poundmaker’s Lodge to temporarily shut down its residential services in 2025. Using some existing funding, the organization created a smaller-scale program so people could continue accessing addiction treatment while residential services were unavailable.

Carla Jamison, Community Engagement Officer with Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centres, said the program operated Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., for three weeks.

“So, we had a fire in 2025, right? And then we had to shut down our residential services. We were able to use some of the funding that we had to open up the day program,” Jamison said.

The program continued until the organization could reopen its east wing through a phased approach. By then, staff had seen substantial demand for the service.

“And then we found that the amount of people that were requesting the day program was a lot, and we saw that it was filling a gap within the community for people who may not be able to take the six weeks off work for residential treatment, but can accommodate their schedule to be able to come during the day and get the addiction treatment they needed,” Jamison said.

Poundmaker’s Lodge said the Day Program served mothers and fathers with children and family responsibilities who were unable to step away from their lives for residential treatment. It also supported urban Indigenous people who preferred to access culturally based services away from their home First Nation or community.

Jamison said the organization advocated to provincial ministries to continue funding the program.

“And so, because we had so many people going through and it helped on so many different levels, we advocated to the ministries to continue this program, and we never got any response back other than that we’re not continuing funding that program,” she said.

“There were still people requesting to go despite the fact that we’ve fully opened up now.”

For some people, leaving employment, children or housing for six weeks is simply not realistic.

“Again, it provides a service for those who are in need of addiction treatment but cannot, you know, give up their children for six weeks, give up their homes, give up their income,” Jamison said.

The Day Program also became a pathway into longer-term treatment. Jamison said some people accessed the service while staying in homeless shelters, while others eventually decided to enter Poundmaker’s 42-day residential program.

“And we had people that would come to us, and because they were not necessarily employed, they decided, oh, you know what? I’m going to come in and try the 42-day program now,” Jamison said.

The experience reinforced the importance of flexibility in addiction treatment.

“Because it’s not always a one and done for addiction treatment,” Jamison said. “Some people need longer time.”

Poundmaker’s Lodge said it has made the decision to focus its limited resources on direct services, including working alongside clients, supporting recovery and sitting with them in ceremony. The organization said it believes there needs to be a broader conversation about ensuring investments in addiction and recovery reach front-line services, particularly culturally grounded programs serving urban Indigenous populations.

Jamison said the organization wants government to recognize that the need remains.

“We just, we want to let the government know that the service is still needed,” she said. “We need to continue these services for people and fill those gaps.”

“If we don’t, people are going to continue to get sick and die from addiction.”

Despite the closure, Poundmaker’s Lodge said its commitment to culturally grounded treatment remains unchanged. Residential treatment will continue, combining clinical practice with Indigenous culture, traditional teachings and ceremony.

“While we are deeply disappointed to see the Day Program close, our commitment to providing culturally grounded addiction treatment remains unchanged,” the organization said.

The closure leaves a broader question about how addiction-treatment systems can accommodate people who need help but cannot step away from their families, employment, housing or communities for residential treatment.

For Poundmaker’s Lodge, the experience demonstrated that flexible, culturally grounded services remain an important part of the continuum of care for urban Indigenous people.