Duane Hicks
With funding for the Rainy River District Substance Abuse Prevention Team (SAPT) coming to an end March 31, about 70 people gathered to wish SAPT co-ordinator Hugh Dennis farewell yesterday evening.
“The last three years and two months have been a life experience that has been unbelievably positive and it will always be one of, if not the most, important experience in my life,” a tearful Dennis told those on hand at the Townshend Theatre.
“And I’ll tell you why. If you told me 18 years ago that this would happen to me, I would not have believed it at all possible,” he remarked.
“I was able, through help, to change my life and these last three years have given me the opportunity to give back to our community the life that I have been able to have for the last 16 years of sobriety.
“One day at a time has been my motto.
“The team is what this is all about,” he stressed. “It isn’t about Hugh Dennis, it’s about our communities working together and accomplishing good things and working hard.”
Dennis added that working with young people “has got to be the most positive experience that anybody can have.”
“They are our future,” he noted. “Relating with young people, talking, having a conversation and so forth is what makes our communities what they are today.
“There is hope. It’s very, very positive,” he enthused, saying SAPT is all about “having relationships, being together, and trying to change, for the better, our community collectively”
Dennis stressed the SAPT should not be viewed as ended.
“It is simply changing . . . change is inevitable,” he reasoned. “And if we look at it positively, the new SAPT is going to be as good as the old one.
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this tribute tonight,” Dennis added. “It will never, ever be forgotten and with that, I’ll say good night.”
SAPT chair and local CN Police Cst. Pete LeDrew said the SAPT program has run since 1998, and has had four co-ordinators over the years.
“To say we ended on a high note is an understatement,” he remarked. “Hugh, thank you so much. It was an absolute pleasure working with you.
“Out of this, I definitely gained a friend, and hopefully we’ll continue that as years go on.”
Cst. LeDrew said the SAPT is all about community partners working together to prevent problems associated with alcohol and drugs, and “that’s something that Hugh took with a passion, and really ran with it and really drove it home with all the communities” from Atikokan to Rainy River.
“Hugh got into the communities and sold his product, and really got everybody on board. And from what I have heard and seen, [it] will affect the lives of people for many, many years to come.”
Cst. LeDrew also stressed what has been built up with the SAPT must not be lost, and that community partners within the district must be maintained.
“We’re on the right path right now, and we have to continue that,” he noted, adding the SAPT is continuing to look for funding to do projects.
Cst. LeDrew later thanked Dennis for all he’s done.
“We’ll see you down the road. We’re going to be positive and we’re going to keep the message going,” he pledged.
“We’re going to do our best to continue what Hugh has done for the district communities, and we will definitely be seeing you in the near and distant futures.”
Bob Swing, chair of Safe Communities Rainy River District, referred to Dennis as an “accelerant” to getting things done.
For example, Dennis drafted Swing, who is an environmental health and safety manager at the Ainsworth mill in Barwick, to help out with the safety coalition, and several years later, Swing was the coalition chair.
“Hugh is very good at accelerating certain things,” Swing said. “Hugh also has an unbelievable amount of respect within our district, and he’s able to tie together groups that don’t normally speak to each other.”
Consisting of 10 municipalities and 14 First Nations, Swing added the safety coalition has a lot of support both from professional organizations and volunteers, “and there’s nowhere else in the world that has what this district has in its Safe Communities network and partnerships.”
“It’s what we do here, and a lot of what we do here has to do with that gentleman right there,” Swing stressed. “And it’s very important to remember that.”
Swing had Dennis sit in a dentist’s chair while he was on stage—a nod to Dennis’ dislike of going to the dentist. Swing also gave him a Blackberry and a Mac—or rather real blackberries and a Mackintosh apple—as a first step to ease him into using new technology, which he also dislikes.
Fort Frances OPP Cst. Anne McCoy said Dennis exemplifies what is called a “dealer of hope.”
When the SAPT found out about the funding changes, they were discouraged, she recalled.
“We were determined, though, because even though the funding was ending, not one of us ever believed one time that this program was going to come to an end, and that is inspirational,” she noted.
“It was great to see the transformation of a team being made, from being discouraged to energized, and strategizing on how we can make a difference in getting funding together, and to look at a new concept of the SAPT with our partnerships,” Cst. McCoy added.
“So the entire SAPT team, including this man, never gave up hope for success. The SAPT, we know, is too important to give up hope on. There are too many people, families, that need education, that need the resources, that need the support within our district, that are faced with substance abuse issues.
“And one word that comes to mind is oxycontin, which right now is an epidemic,” she warned.
Cst. McCoy said that when dealing with substance abuse issues, “hope is sometimes the last thing left for us to hang onto” and that Dennis, as a leader, has kept that hope alive.
“The Substance Abuse Prevention Team has a co-ordinator that has been a leader who offers hope to people, and compassion to people, and that is why this program is so successful,” she remarked.
Cst. McCoy said Dennis got people thinking and talking with the “PhotoVoice” projects he did with area First Nation teens and elders, and helped people achieve “small victories” against substance abuse, inspiring them onto greater victories.
“Hugh expresses sincere belief in his message that he delivers to the Rainy River District,” she noted. “He has set the bar high, and gets others to work with him to deliver his SAPT message.
“He has won confidence and nurtures vitality in others.
“Vitality means keeping the promises you’ve made to yourself, and interestingly enough, we chose the name ‘Project Vitality’ for recent funding submissions for sustainability for our project and are anticipating some positive news in April,” she added.
“Hugh, you are a ‘dealer of hope,’” Cst. McCoy said. “Congratulations on your accomplishments, and we thank you for all your efforts. Your leadership with the SAPT is commendable.
“You are valued as the SAPT co-ordinator because of your commitment to the team and your district concerning issues of substance abuse awareness and education.
“You continue to mentor others to carry your message. You equip others with tools to succeed, and you empower others to turn adversities into victories.
“Your leadership has resulted in respect from your fellow team members, your community members, and your friends,” she concluded.
Cst. McCoy said Dennis has truly found his calling, and if the right funding comes through, “we might consider you getting us back with us.”
Cst. McCoy gave Dennis a tray of peanut butter marshmallow squares, courtesy of Tess’ Kitchen, so he can have them all to himself instead of hogging them at SAPT lunch meetings.
She and Cst. LeDrew also gave Dennis’ wife, Robin, a bouquet as thanks her for being understanding of her husband’s considerable commitment over the years.
Rainy River First Nations Chief Jim Leonard and several Rainy River FN youth, who participated in the Rainy River First Nations Community Addictions Program, presented Dennis with a colourful, traditional shirt as a token of appreciation.
After cracking a few jokes, Treaty #3 Police Cst. Brian Major presented Dennis with an eagle feather.
“As an Indian person, it is the highest honour you can give to a person real close to you or who accomplishes something,” he explained.
“That’s what I am going to do because Hughie is a real, true [role] model for everybody, just like those young kids that came up, and to me, too,” added Cst. Major.
“We’ve come a long ways.”
The farewell dinner also included two slideshows—one in the Fort High cafeteria and the other in the theatre—with images of co-workers, SAPT partners, school children, and others Dennis has worked with over the past few years.
The program was preceded by a spaghetti dinner, with cake for dessert, prepared by Kathy’s Katering.
The local SAPT had been funded for more than 11 years as one of the province’s 22 FOCUS community projects, with programs working to prevent injury and reduce harm as it relates to alcohol and other drug use, as well as raising awareness of alcohol as a risk factor in chronic disease.
But due to a new funding model under the “Healthy Communities Ontario” approach, introduced by the Ministry of Health Promotion, the contracts to fund the FOCUS community projects will not be renewed beyond March 31.
