our history
Origins
- From Grief to Action (FGTA) began with two sets of parents in west-side Vancouver who disclosed to each other that a family member was suffering from an addiction to illegal drugs. This discovery opened their eyes to the existence of other apparently untroubled families struggling with the same tragedy.
- With the encouragement of Rev. Kevin Dixon at St. Mary's Church in Kerrisdale, they formed a support group. Participants focused on helping each other move beyond feelings of shame, perceived guilt, helplessness and grief.
- After a year, during which several invited speakers came to help shed light on their shared situation, the group realized that it wasn't just the disease of addiction that was an increasingly pervasive problem, it was the scarcity of treatment programs.
- The parents resolved to raise awareness by reaching out as an interest group to community members, the media and politicians. Having decided to move "from grief to action," they created a vision statement (mandate) for the group.
FGTA unknowingly became the face of addiction in the family because, as outspoken middle class urbanites, the members reached a large audience. Community members were startled to learn that the problem, most often attributed to the Downtown East Side, was also a problem on the affluent west side. Others were relieved that the silence and self-imposed shame had been broken: drug addiction could happen in any family.
Early days
- St. Mary's Church became not only the meeting place for the newly incorporated society but also its administrative mainstay. The church secretary generously expanded her workload to support the inaugural President, Secretary and Treasurer in their tasks.
- Financial support came from memberships, and from private gifts and memorial bequests — the most poignant of all marking the loss of a family member from drug-related causes.
- Project support was gratefully received from the United Way of the Lower Mainland, The Christmas Family Ball Society, and the (former) Ministry of Community Development. Project fundraising is time-intensive, however. The officers' administrative workload — particularly that of then-president Nichola Hall — grew to an unwieldy level as the society grew.
- The Board's next big decision was to engage an Executive Director, and Fran Romer was named to this role in 2007.
Our Founders
In the words used to introduce the film From Grief to Action,* "Rob and Susie Ruttan and their neighbours, Ray and Nicky Hall, never dreamed that heroin would be a problem they'd have to deal with. They live in the tranquil neighborhood of Kerrisdale, Vancouver and are intelligent, loving, resourceful parents who unexpectedly found themselves coping with the shame and guilt of having teenage sons who had become [addicted to heroin]. As they struggled to find resources and solutions for their children's problems they discovered other parents right in their own neighborhood dealing with the same horrible nightmare."
Susie Ruttan
A former elementary school teacher and mother of three, Susie served as FGTA vice-president for eight years. Highlights of her years representing FGTA include speaking engagements at international conferences on drug addiction in Montreal, Toronto and (especially) Venice, Italy. Susie has been a nominee for the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award and was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of her service to the community through her work for FGTA. Susie is particularly proud of having helped to bring about the establishment of B.C.'s first long-term treatment centre for youth with the Portage Program at The Crossing at Keremeos.
Rob Ruttan
As a crown prosecutor for many years, Rob saw that traditional criminal justice approaches were failing to deal with the problem of drug use. The issue really struck home when a member of his own family became addicted to heroin. Alongside his wife, Susie, Rob was actively involved with FGTA through its first ten years as it grew from an informal support group to a productive non-profit charitable society. He spoke out often on issues of concern to FGTA members, in interviews, speeches and as a member of the steering community for the youth treatment centre. The opening of the The Crossing at Keremeos is the realization of a long-time dream to make Portage treatment available to B.C. youth in their home province.
Nichola Hall
Before discovering addiction in her family, Nichola had spent many years working and volunteering in the fields of social planning and community development, mostly with the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. While her two boys were in school she completed her B.A. in Political Science and then specialized with a Masters degree in public policy. She spent 15 years at UBC as a Program Director in Arts, Humanities and Public Affairs, and served on the Board of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff. She was named as a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA in 2003 for her voluntary activities. Now retired, Nichola represents FGTA on three community boards and has spoken on behalf of FGTA to various groups around the world from Melbourne in Australia to Waterloo, Regina and Quesnel in Canada.
Ray Hall
Ray's career in video and film began at the CBC editing for television. In the early ‘70s he held a three-year post as film unit director in Lebanon for the UN Relief Agency, documenting the lives of Palestinian refugees. Then Ray went freelance, becoming principal partner in the film production company Petra for seven years. A film production opening at UBC in 1981 led to a teaching appointment in the Dept of Film, Theatre and Creative writing, from which he retired in 1998 as a full professor. Ray still dabbles in film, especially recording the history of his beautiful island birthplace - Norfolk Island in the South Pacific.
