(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

steady as she goes

Defining reality: Safe Harbour Society bids adieu to Captain Kath Hoffman

Jul 28, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Red Deer-based Safe Harbour Society is losing its everlasting beacon, though her shine will undoubtedly be felt in the community for many years to come.

Kath Hoffman, who started with the organization in 2005, will serve her last day as executive director on Aug. 15, and be replaced by Perry Goddard.

Goddard, who is coming from his role as director of guest support and empowerment at Conception Bay South, Newfoundland’s The Gathering Place, brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of addiction, mental health and trauma, as well as housing and homelessness.

Goddard will work with Hoffman for two weeks starting Aug. 1 to ensure a smooth transition.

For Hoffman, bittersweet only begins to describe what she’s feeling as she steps away from the organization she’s overseen saving and bettering lives for the last 20 years.

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“There are so many people who showed up [the last 20 years]. We say all the time that it seems like whatever we need at the Harbour comes. It may be something we have to learn from, something wonderful, or a board or staff member with a certain skill,” says Hoffman, who got emotional talking about the collective effort of many.

“It feels weird to be celebrated for what so many people have brought to this organization. I went and found them maybe, but then it was their lights that shone together to make this place happen. That’s the reality.”

And shining a light on reality is what will define Hoffman’s lengthy run as not just executive director, but captain of the Safe Harbour ship.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Safe Harbour enthusiastically leans into the nautical connotations, guided by the Hoffman-created ‘Seven Stars,’ or guiding principles, they steer by.

The principles are truth-telling, peace-making, story-telling, listening, risk-taking, compassion, and relationship.

“It’s the people we serve who’ve taught us the most about reality. When I first started helping with the local needle exchange in the 1990s, I thought a lot about believing in the idea of harm reduction. I could give someone a needle to prevent HIV or Hepatitis C, but one day, a 15-year-old called me, and suddenly, that belief seemed to stop. I couldn’t believe I should give a 15-year-old a needle,” Hoffman recalls.

“Both of this kid’s parents were injecting cocaine at home. So what I had to do for the first time was stretch my belief system and realize the reality, that being that this kid was real, and that she was about to poke herself with a dirty needle. I had a teen at home, so I though that if this was my kid, I’d want her to have a clean needle because she’s going to do it regardless.”

Stretching beliefs is precisely what Red Deerians have been asked to do for many years, she admits, pointing back to 2005 with the detox centre, and to present day with the overdose prevention site.

“People are getting hit with all these solutions that seem crazy because they’re looking at it from their world,” she says.

“When I started, Safe Harbour was looking for a detox centre location, and that’s when I first encountered the ‘NIMBY’ (Not In My Back-Yard) virus. I was naive; I thought everyone would help, and it’d be easy because it was apparent what we needed. Everybody in Red Deer thought we needed a detox centre, but no one wanted it near them.”

The same issue persists today with the permanent emergency shelter, a project sitting on the shelf until a location can be agreed upon.

Hoffman, who’s original goal was to stay on until the shelter got done, strongly acknowledges the concerns of business owners and others affected by Safe Harbour’s ripple effects as valid.

She also praises the community, one and all, for always being there in a flash when Safe Harbour needs donations.

“Do we want these people to be overdosing? Of course not. Do we want them to get into recovery? Of course we do. But right now, in this moment, we’re just trying to keep them alive. That’s defining reality,” says Hoffman.

“You’re asking a lot for the public to understand something like the overdose prevention site and why it’s necessary, because it looks crazy from their world. In our world, oh, we need it, and we need much more. It sounds crazy, but it’s real.”

At Safe Harbour, there’s something called the Harbour Circle, where certain service providers gather to honour someone in the community they serve who’s died. It started off with honouring one person at a time, but the last one tragically was to remember 40.

“It’s horrific to say out loud,” Hoffman says. “I know my crew though and I know that the community we serve is well-served. They have more resilience than I can ever hope for.

“What would I say to the people we serve? They’ve been my greatest teachers. Man, they’ve taught me so much about what I thought I knew. It turns out I didn’t know anything to start. When they started to trust us, then we really found out their truths so we could start to give them realistic solutions,” Hoffman continues.

“The basic tent of harm reduction is to meet people where they’re at.”

In a statement, Safe Harbour’s board describes Hoffman as a tenacious leader with passion and integrity.

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