Sept. 30 is officially Recovery Day in Victoria.
Mayor Dean Fortin made the proclamation Thursday, making Victoria the second city in Canada behind Vancouver to recognize the success of addictions treatment.
“It really is about celebrating recovery,” said Susan Donaldson, addictions counsellor and the driving force behind the declaration.
Donaldson and her colleagues plan to promote the day in future years and raise awareness in the general population about what options are available for addictions treatment.
“There’s a lot of people in Victoria who have successfully recovered from addictions. We see a lot of active addictions around the city, but once people are in recovery, they just go about their lives,” she said.
Fortin also declared Sept. 21 the International Day of Peace in the city, and created an environmental public health awareness week from Sept. 24 to 30.