Tumbler Ridge - The Tumbler Ridge Community Healing Space is playing a growing role in helping residents recover following February’s mass shooting that left nine people dead, including the shooter.
But the space, which offers free massage and acupuncture sessions, is now facing an uncertain future, and is set to close at the end of May due to a lack of funding and limited volunteer capacity.
For residents, it has become a quiet place to begin healing together.
Joan Zimmer, who has lived in Tumbler Ridge for 42 years, says she initially felt lost after the shooting, but felt a strong instinct to stay involved in her community.
“I felt that I needed to be in the community helping,” she said, adding she has long been “always ready to help other people.”
Zimmer says that mindset comes from a lifetime of caregiving, raising six children and working as a paramedic.
But she says it wasn’t until attending sessions at the healing space that she realized she also needed support.
“After a few treatments, I realized there’s people here that can help me,” she said. “I needed help just as much as anybody else.”
Zimmer says the space offered more than treatment; it provided connection and comfort.
“It was being social, being around people, the physical touch and just being in community,” she said. “Socially, it really helped me.”
She says weekly visits helped clear her mind, improve her day-to-day functioning, and had a positive impact on her family as well.
The healing space was created in the days following the shooting.
Yvonne Poulin, a registered massage therapist and founder of the space, was working at the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre at the time of the tragedy. In the aftermath, she began offering massage therapy for first responders and school staff directly affected.
Poulin says the initiative grew with help from her friend, Ariana Andino, an acupuncturist from Grande Cache, Alberta, who brought additional training through Acupuncturists Without Borders.
“She really wanted to dig in and help out a lot,” Poulin said.
Poulin says local support also helped bring the space together, including food donations and fundraising efforts, along with support from the Tumbler Ridge Public Library.
“We’ve had food taken care of, and we’ve done so much fundraising,” she said.
Poulin describes the space as a free, accessible, hands-on, trauma-informed clinic where residents can receive care without having to speak about their experiences.
She says it is built on the idea that trauma is held in the body, and focuses on creating a calm environment for recovery.
“We know that trauma is held in the body. This is a really nice place for people to just come and take a deep breath, receive free treatments, see their neighbours and heal in their own way,” she said.
Since opening, volunteer practitioners, some travelling from as far as Vancouver Island, have provided more than 800 treatments.
Coordinator Cali Stanley says seeing the response from residents has reinforced just how important the space has become.
“The success stories, the smiles, and the fact that there has yet to be a negative review of this place, it’s built me up in a way I never thought possible,” she said.
As the community marks 100 days since the tragedy on Thursday, Stanley says she has seen residents move through deep grief and begin to heal.
But despite its impact, the healing space is facing an uncertain future. It is set to close at the end of May due to a lack of funding and limited volunteer capacity.
“Our ultimate goal is to move forward with sustainable, accessible care to continue the community healing process in the future,” Stanley said, adding they are determined to continue the program, but say funding remains the biggest challenge.
The community-led healing space is accepting donations through the Tumbler Ridge Library’s website, under “TRPL Physical Therapy.” Those looking to offer support can also connect through the TRCHS Facebook page.
Until May 30, the space is open from 1 to 5 p.m., unless additional hours are offered by practitioners. It is located at 102-230 Main Street.
Stanley is encouraging residents who haven’t yet attended to visit before it closes.