The Grace House is moving forward with a new manager and board chair, and the future looks bright.
Board Chair Donna Powell tells the Mail The Grace House has hired a new manager in Dennis Dafoe. He started in December.
“He moved here last spring and he’s well qualified to run the House and has worked with the Salvation Army in the addictions program,” said Powell. “He’s pretty new, but he has been actively updating the programming. It is really needed and has probably been needed for quite some time, except you have to find the person who is qualified to make those changes, and that’s definitely him.”
The vision of the Grace House “is to create a safe and healthy environment, empowering men to live drug and alcohol-free lives through an individualized 90-day treatment plan. We strive to provide quality care while promoting resilience, dignity, and overall well-being.”
The Grace House admits clients who are over 25 and have a willingness to live a life of sobriety. Clients have also been through a detox centre or have been clean for five days.
Powell said their clients come from a variety of places.
“They can come from detox centres in Calgary. Sometimes we get people from other treatment facilities” she said, adding that often treatment is built into their court-ordered conditions. “These guys generally do pretty good… so it is helpful for them.”
Grace House does its intakes, where its staff gauges the suitability and commitment of each client.
“One of the difficulties in Drumheller is there is no public transportation, it is a challenge to get the guys here,” says Powell.
The Grace House provides life skill programming as well as working through the 12-step program. In their 90 days, they are expected to complete the 12-step workbook and attend meetings daily. The Grace House clients can also seek out individual counselling through partner organizations.
“The facilitator works with all of them and she does the programming, so she helps with the setup,” explains Powell. “The guys pay a portion themselves. I think that’s a good model. They have to be well committed and it has to be something they want. When you are paying for something out of your own pocket partially, that is a bigger commitment.”
She adds that manager Dafoe is also a councillor himself and provides resources.
More information is available at www.grace-house.ca.

The Wheatland & Area Hospice Society (WAHS) is planning to better serve the community, and greater region, with the most viable end-of-life care achievable, with a new hospice in Strathmore.
In a letter written on Friday, February 16, 2024, to the Village of Hussar’s Mayor Les Schultz, the President of WAHS Joni McNeely asks council members to demonstrate strong support of the project in a letter to present Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange with.
“The Wheatland & Area Hospice Society has been fundraising for eight years to open a hospice in Strathmore. With the design completed and work ready to begin, we are looking for partners who can help with operational funding,” states McNeely in the letter. “We are looking to show Alberta Health there is a need for such a facility in our community and that the local leadership supports the project.”
The new hospice will deliver and provide the best end-of-life care, ensuring the same level of care for rural Albertans in the region that those in larger communities receive, and keeping people and their families closer to home.
“We believe the hospice Wheatland & Area Hospice Society is proposing will immensely benefit our community and will help your government support rural healthcare, increase front-line services, and ensure our community remain viable, all at a lower cost to the provincial treasury than other options,” it states in a preempted letter for Hussar council to review, sign and forward to Minister LaGrange.
M3 Development LTD project managers, Derek Weiss Consultant and the Wheatland Housing Management Body Building Committee are all working together to oversee the entirety of the project.