Several Drayton Valley residents are looking to open a rehabilitation centre for women in the community.
While Opportunity Home opened in 2023, the rehabilitation centre only takes in men. All Are Daughters will be able to complement Opportunity Home by offering a centre for women.
At their first public event, All Are Daughters’ president Carrie Popadynetz spoke to a crowd packed into Nodding Donkey Brewing. Popadynetz shared details of her own struggles with addiction and her determination to help others on their own journeys to recovery.
“My name is Carrie Popadynetz, and what you see here tonight is my dream coming to life,” she says.
Popadynetz says she struggled with recovery for more than a decade. She had children, was married and divorced, and moved around to try to prevent a relapse.
One of her biggest obstacles was the fear of losing her children. Popadynetz says she was afraid to get herself into a facility because she could lose custody.
In 2013, Popadynetz was finally able to succeed with her recovery efforts.
“If I can do it, anyone can do it,” she says.
Popadynetz says one of her friends lost a sister to an overdose in 2023 because of the wait times in Alberta for a place in a rehabilitation centre. She says for every eight beds that are available for men in recovery, there is only one for women in Alberta.
“In that grief, I felt my higher power calling me — calling us — into action,” says Popadynetz. “I am done watching women die from this disease. I am done watching women forced to choose between getting help and being mothers. I am done watching pregnant mothers face the terror that the moment they deliver the baby’s being taken from their arms.
“I faced the barriers for years, and now I’m committed to tearing those barriers down.”
All Are Daughters was established in the spring of 2025. Local business owner Pat Vos has donated the old Intercon building to the cause, and the renovations are currently underway. Now, they are working to open their doors as soon as possible.
Popadynetz says she wants this facility to offer a more holistic experience for women struggling with addiction abuse disorder. All Are Daughters will be a centre that allows women and children to stay, allowing mothers to heal themselves while caring for their children. They will offer many services that will give women important skills to take out into the world once they have completed the program.
Along with the traditional services offered at a recovery facility, All Are Daughters will also help women work or take university courses to help them succeed.
“I’ve got a vision, and I’m going to build it,” says Popadynetz.
One local mother, Trina Beckett, told the story of her teenage daughter’s addiction, her recovery process, and her completion of the program in 2021. Beckett spoke about the importance of family involvement and support during her daughter’s recovery, even after her daughter had completed the program.
The road wasn’t an easy one, requiring one parent to live in Calgary and open a recovery home for adolescents to stay at while they went through the program. As a result, her family was paying double the household bills, and her husband and children spent hours on the road visiting Beckett and her daughter every couple of weeks.
“Once Bre completed the program at [Adolescent Recovery Centre] I had a dream. A dream born from watching our daughter’s journey and imagining a place where women could heal together, support one another, and rebuild their lives with dignity and love,” says Beckett.
Beckett says her daughter was excited that Beckett was part of All Are Daughters.
After Bre died in an accident last summer, Beckett says she is working toward this dream for herself and her daughter.
“Bre and I dreamt it while she was here,” says Beckett. “And I wanted to continue even more after her passing.”
Danna Cropley, the executive director of Opportunity Home, is a member of the board for All Are Daughters.
“Recovery is not about willpower,” says Cropley. “It’s about having the right support, at the right time, in an environment where healing is actually possible. How we as a community understand addiction shapes whether people will reach out at all.”
Cropley says that rural areas face the highest barriers to accessing mental health and substance abuse services. All Are Daughters will help to fill that gap, with ten beds open to women.
“These are not personal failures; these are structural realities,” says Cropley.
All Are Daughters is working with the Province to get the same funding as Opportunity Home gets. Cropley says they will receive about $83 per client per day, but that will only cover a small portion of the costs.
Popadynetz says there are several ways the community can support All Are Daughters. She says they have been discussing different ways to get funding, such as room sponsorships and advertising packages. They’re also looking for volunteers.
Those looking to donate or find more information on the project can reach out to All Are Daughters at 780-515-1205 or by email at allaredaughters@gmail.com.
