This June, the Woodstone Residence, Canada’s first non-institutional residential centre for youth, that opened in April of 2011 on Galiano Island, is just about to welcome its 100th resident. To fully understand the significance of this milestone – one must look back to the beginning.

What brought Looking Glass Foundation and the Woodstone Residence into being?

Broken hearts.

An eating disorder is not supposed to happen and yet it does all the same. It creeps up, silently taking over one life at a time. Like water its seeps into every corner, upending the planned story of a life for one of uncertainty.  And it is terrifying. So when our daughters began to battle with “the illness that makes no sense” we came together to wage war right back.

Together, eyes wild and hearts breaking, we held the space for one another in an effort to steady ourselves. We took strength from each other and little by little, the anger we felt was replaced by something much stronger: determination.

Despite the efforts of the medical system in Canada, we had to look to the care available to our daughters in the USA. The 49th parallel is an imaginary line on the globe but one that meant the difference between hope and

despair for us.  It was a messy, roller coaster experience but now that we had each other we questioned why the residential care model that dotted the country from coast to coast in the US, did not exist here in Canada. It was a good question and we committed ourselves to answering it.

Together, with our family and friends, people who had been through what we had, and those that had buried their children far before their time, we began to dream.

We dreamed that The Looking Glass Foundation would advocate for better service for people with eating disorders and better access to care all at a lesser cost than if a person was to go to the USA. We also dreamed of establishing the first residential centre in Canada so others could find the help and hope they needed in their own back yard.

Fast-forward twelve years and I’m here to tell you that eating disorders are rampant but we have more knowledge about them than before. That getting help still isn’t easy but it’s easier. We’re thrilled and humbled to have worked with 100 extraordinary clients at the Woodstone Residence and we are grateful for your ongoing support.

This post was written by Deborah Grimm - one of the original founders of the Looking Glass Foundation for Eating Disorders

Learn more about our program and how you can get involved.

Join our community on Facebook.

Join the conversation on Twitter: @Looking_GlassBC

Our mission is to recognize, honour and support applicants who are recovering or have recovered from an Eating Disorder. We are proud to promote the opportunity for students to make a difference through post-secondary education.

The Aspire to Higher Scholarships are awarded based on demonstrated community service, leadership, academic achievement and/or financial need.

This year we are pleased to offer the following scholarships:

1 - $5,000 Scholarship to the successful candidate

2 - $2,500 Scholarships to the successful candidates

Applications Due by - June 14, 2013
Recipients Notified by - July 5, 2013
Awarded by - July 12, 2013

[dt_button link="https://www.lookingglassbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LGF-Aspire-to-Higher-Scholarship-Info.docx" target_blank="false" size="big" animation="none"]DOWNLOAD THE INSTRUCTION GUIDE[/dt_button]

[dt_button link="https://www.lookingglassbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LGF-Aspire-to-Higher-Scholarship-Questionnaire.docx" target_blank="false" size="big" animation="none"]DOWNLOAD THE QUESTIONNAIRE[/dt_button]

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Our 9th annual gala was a be-YOU-tiful success, captured so elegantly in the photos below, taken by our friend Linsey Hulls:

That's right - our founding mothers (left to right) Deborah Grimm, Dolores Elliot, and Cindy Dobbe are official nominees for this year's YWCA Women of Distinction Awards! And who could think of a more deserving threesome?

Brought together nearly a decade ago by their daughters' struggles with debilitating eating disorders, all three women were dismayed and appalled at the lack of treatment available in BC. They decided to take a stand and make a change - and thus was born the moxied and perserverant Looking Glass Foundation, the foundation lain for their goal of establishing BC's first publicly-funded residential treatment facility for youth. After much policy-scaling and unwinding of red-tape, their plans have come to fruition: the Woodstone Residence on Galiano Island has been open and operational since February 2011, offering patients a beautiful setting where they can safely face up to their insidious diseases. It's thanks to these three groundbreakers that many young people in our community have a source of hope.

Show your support on our Facebook page or at the Awards presentation on Thursday, May 24 at the Westin Bayshore (get tickets early if you can - purchases before May 3 receive the early bird rate). These amazing ladies have worked hard for it, and we can't thank them enough!!That's right - our founding mothers (left to right) Deborah Grimm, Dolores Elliot, and Cindy Dobbe are official nominees for this year's YWCA Women of Distinction Awards! And who could think of a more deserving threesome?

Brought together nearly a decade ago by their daughters' struggles with debilitating eating disorders, all three women were dismayed and appalled at the lack of treatment available in BC. They decided to take a stand and make a change - and thus was born the moxied and perserverant Looking Glass Foundation, the foundation lain for their goal of establishing BC's first publicly-funded residential treatment facility for youth. After much policy-scaling and unwinding of red-tape, their plans have come to fruition: the Woodstone Residence on Galiano Island has been open and operational since February 2011, offering patients a beautiful setting where they can safely face up to their insidious diseases. It's thanks to these three groundbreakers that many young people in our community have a source of hope.

Show your support on our Facebook page or at the Awards presentation on Thursday, May 24 at the Westin Bayshore (get tickets early if you can - purchases before May 3 receive the early bird rate). These amazing ladies have worked hard for it, and we can't thank them enough!!

By PAMELA FAYERMA
Vancouver Sun, November 28, 2010 - Medicine Matters

Journalism is rewarding, especially when stories have an impact on public policy or when they lead to positive change for those in greatest need. Last week, the provincial government announced it was pledging $4.1 million to help launch the Woodstone Residence for patients aged 17 to 24 with eating disorders. The decision followed some heart-wrenching stories I wrote - including this one - about the paucity of treatment options for those with eating disorders. Last week, I got an email from Cindy Dobbe, the founder of the foundation responsible for the new facility, alerting me to the government's decision. She also thanked me, saying:

"With your help, this is now a reality. I can’t thank you enough!!"

There's no way I could, should or would ever take even a bit of credit for this development regarding the residential facility but it's gratifying to hear when stories have played any kind of role in effecting change. Here's a photo and news release about the facility:

BC to Host Canada’s First Publicly Funded Residential Treatment Centre for Adolescents and Young Adults with Eating Disorders

Canada's first publicly funded residential treatment centre for eating disorders will open its doors in February 2011, providing best practice integrated care for adolescents and young adults (ages 17-24) suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified. Located on Galiano Island, the former Woodstone Inn has been redeveloped as the Woodstone Residence with the capacity to treat 20 medically stable individuals who require intensive and highly structured multidisciplinary care in a residential type therapeutic environment.

A decade in the making and spearheaded by three mothers who lived through the heartache of their daughters’ experiences with eating disorders, and the lack of adequate resources in BC, the Woodstone Residence adds a significant and valuable resource to the province’s continuum of care. Owned and operated by the Looking Glass Foundation in partnership with and supported by BC’s Ministry of Health Services, Ministry of Children and Family Development, and Vancouver Island Health Authority, the Woodstone Residence will provide evidence informed residential treatment for individuals at varying stages of recovery, delivered by highly skilled and experienced medical and counselling professionals, with the ultimate goal of helping them to full recovery.

"We are thrilled to see this day arrive and to know that our perseverance has paid off for the benefit of so many in BC who suffer from various eating disorders," said Looking Glass Foundation Chair and Founder Cindy Dobbe. "We would not be here today without the support of the Provincial Government and Health Minister Kevin Falcon, as well as the generosity of a number of BC companies and individuals, all of whom have come together to provide the funding necessary to open our doors in February."

Located on Galiano Island, mid-way between Victoria and Vancouver, the Woodstone Residence will deploy telehealth outreach, assessments and treatment thanks to a generous contribution from TELUS. "Videoconferencing is fundamental to our mission," said Dr. Laird Birmingham, Medical Director of Woodstone Residence. "It allows us to assess patients and speak to clinicians around the province, continue to access and plan hometown support during the admission, provide follow-up and family counselling from afar and pool knowledge and teach the community of clinicians that treat eating disorders in all parts of BC."

www.lookingglassbc.com
www.woodstoneresidence.org

Founded in 2001 by Cindy Dobbe, Deborah Grimm and Dolores Elliot, the Looking Glass Foundation is a not for profit society governed under the Societies Act of BC. The Looking Glass Foundation has worked for 10 years to develop and open the Woodstone Residence. In addition, it has provided provide support for individuals and families struggling with eating disorders via advocacy and public information initiatives, support groups, a summer camp for adolescents, an "ask an expert" online question and answer page, a scholarship fund, and other projects.

By JUDITH LAVOIE
Victoria Times Colonist, November 28, 2010 - Health

The shortage of treatment beds for British Columbians suffering from eating disorders will ease slightly next year when a new non-profit centre opens on Galiano Island.

The Woodstone Residence, which will be licensed through Vancouver Island Health Authority, will open in February. The province will fund 10 out of the 20 beds, Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon said Friday.

The remainder of the beds will be privately funded.

The new facility will be "part of strengthening our provincial eating disorders services," Falcon said.

The centre will provide residential care for medically stable patients with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Most patients are expected to be between 17 and 24 and most are likely to stay for two or three months.

The centre will try to intercept eating disorders before they become crises. It will also treat patients who have been discharged from hospital, but need more care before returning home.

The province will pay operational funding of $4.1 million over three years. Start-up costs will be covered by the Looking Glass Foundation, a group that provides support for people with eating disorders and their families.

The foundation was formed a decade ago by three mothers who watched their daughters struggle with eating disorders.

"We are thrilled to see this day arrive and to know that our perseverance has paid off for the benefit of so many in B.C. who suffer from various eating disorders," said Looking Glass founder Cindy Dobbe.

Currently, the province has 14 in-patient beds for youths and seven for adults with eating disorders.

In 2008, an estimated 52,187 girls and women and 5,267 boys and men in B.C were living with a clinically diagnosed eating disorder.