by Woody Bernas, GWR Program Director
“Because things are the way they are, things will not
stay the way they are.”
–Bertold Brecht
Change is the name of the game in recovery – new habits
replace old ones; old people, places and things give way to healthier
relationships and activities; self-defeating thinking and attitudes
are exchanged for a better perspective on life and more effective
tools for dealing with life’s problems.
The same is certainly true for life at Gray Wolf Ranch. In such
a vital place, it’s hard for things to stay the same for
very long. And while the familiar is comforting, keeping up with
the need for our services keeps us on our toes and requires us
to be creative and flexible. And, boy have we been flexible and
creative lately! Here are some of the things we’ve been keeping
busy with at Gray Wolf:
Since May we have hosted six treks including resident treks to
the San Juans, Ross Lake and the Olympics. We also hosted an alumni
river rafting trip on the Rogue River in Oregon, a family sailing
weekend on the Adventuress (a 101-foot, 91 year old gaff
rig schooner) and our third annual Father Son trip kayaking in
the San Juans. We have just finished putting the finishing touches
on our Trek schedule for 2005 that includes some exciting offerings
for Alumni. Can you say “Baja”?
Life was becoming a bit too chaotic in the business office so
we sent Kris Kampf packing to a second yurt that we built on the
old basketball court in order to make room for the techs and community
service staff to have more room using Kris’s old office.
Not only does Kris now have a quieter, larger space to work his
magic, Buck has his very own porch from which to get a pat on the
head from arriving residents (when he’s not in the kitchen,
that is). The new yurt also functions as Peter B’s part time
office and staff meeting room.
Once we covered up the basketball court it became obvious that
we needed a space for some outdoor athletic activities. John Spittler
and his crew cleared an area between the fire pit and the trek
center to build a beautiful new sport court. The court features
an all-weather multi-purpose surface marked for basketball, tennis
and other games. It’s already beautifully landscaped complete
with night lighting and water fountain.
Since the opening of the BADd HABIT silk-screening shop on Lawrence
Street in Uptown, we have been able to relocate the educational center
to a separate loft space on the second floor of that building. It
has been renovated and outfitted with four iMac workstations, and
has separate office space for staff as well as a private entrance.
This space will not only accommodate classroom activity and independent
study, but will serve as a cyber center for all our residents needing
access to computers and Internet. As part of the overall expansion
of our educational offerings we have recently hired Paulette Lack,
a certified teacher, to offer instruction and private tutoring five
days a week. Welcome aboard, Paulette! |
