A prominent addiction recovery facility in Surrey is facing imminent closure after numerous allegations of safety violations and emotional abuse were levied against it by the very individuals it sought to help.
The John Volken Academy (JVA) was ordered to close on Aug. 31, 2024, for non-compliance with the Community Care and Assisted Living Act.
The Ministry of Health, via the Assisted Living Registry, stayed the closure until Jan. 8 so the academy could find accommodations for its 19 residents. That stay has since been extended until March 7, upon a request from the academy for reconsideration at the Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board.
The academy is appealing the original order and a nine-day hearing is scheduled to start May 5.
Regulatory trouble began at the academy after staff and residents lodged complaints to the registry, which oversees licensing for operators — be they public or private non-profit entities — that provide hospitality and assisted living services to more than two people.
The complaints culminated in six registration conditions being placed on the academy on July 22, 2022.
The academy was ordered to hire a nurse or medical practitioner on site for at least 20 hours per week.
It was also ordered not to require or recommend the discontinuance of prescription medications for residents.
Three conditions addressed the allegations of emotional abuse:
- New residents were not be prohibited from participating in activities and leisure time;
- The academy was not to restrict the length and number of letters that residents are allowed to send or receive;
- Speaking bans were to be prohibited.
Another condition addressed complaints around supposed volunteer work, with the registry requiring residents no longer being required to waive liability of the John Volken Academy Society or the John Volken Foundation.
Until those conditions were met, and included in a new student manual, the academy was barred from enrolling new residents.
But by July 2024 registry inspectors found the academy in continuous violation of the conditions and a letter ordering the closure was sent to the academy from Ross Hayward, the assistant deputy minister for seniors’ services at the Ministry of Health.
"JVA either cannot or will not comply with the legal requirements that have been put in place by the Province of British Columbia to protect vulnerable residents of assisted living residences,” stated Hayward, who highlights complaints in his letter, which supplements two "substantiated complaint" reports issued against the academy.
What were the complaints? What did inspectors find?
Inspectors had found the academy continued to admit new clients between October 2023 and March 2024 despite not meeting its conditions.
One new client came from outside of Canada. Furthermore, in June 2024 inspectors found brochures inviting people as young as 18 to the academy when the legal age restriction is 19.
The academy also continued speaking bans for clients, including being “strongly encouraged” not to talk with anyone of the opposite sex or with anyone who is not a member of their so-called “family group.”
Instead of promised one-on-one counselling, conflict management and life-skill workshops, the academy programming was largely peer-to-peer, Hayward stated.
“From these interviews, it became clear that there is no scheduled program of psychosocial support being provided to residents,” he stated.
One resident likened the family meetings to complaint sessions where residents “tattle on each other about minor things somewhat like high school students, rather than these sessions being focused on recovery.”
Residents were also not allowed to leave the academy site unattended until they have resided there for one year. This limits their ability to receive counselling elsewhere, noted Hayward.
“I have formed the opinion that JVA has not implemented the psychosocial support plan according to the policy that had been communicated,” when the academy was licensed in 2014, wrote Hayward.
Residents were, however, allowed to leave the academy residence for one purpose: work, or as the academy put it, building “life skills.”
The academy operated a moving company, a local farm with cattle and a now-closed grocery store. It insists the profits are returned to the foundation, which is a registered charity and subject to Canada Revenue Agency regulations.
The academy compels residents to complete a so-called volunteer work program for two years. This program entailed unpaid labour at the three businesses six days per week and eight hours per day.
“There is no recovery going on here, and all we do is work,” stated one resident to the inspectors, according to Hayward.
And if a labourer is found to have broken a rule at the business, that results in having additional months of unpaid work added to their residency.
If the additional work is not completed, the academy withholds a completion certificate.
Doing so denies a resident with proof of work experience, which would be “a potentially insurmountable barrier when seeking employment in the community,” stated Hayward.
Hayward characterized these rules as “emotional abuse.”
Physical abuse was also characterized by complainants on account of the long hours worked.
Residents would simply be too tired to participate in recovery-focused activities or even recreational pursuits, complainants told the registry.
“The whole vibe is hurry up [and work]; not about recovery,” stated one resident.
Hayward found little or no training was provided, and that the physical fitness and general condition of residents was not considered in work assignments.
Between 2000 and 2023, nine injuries were reported to the registry. The most serious incidents appear to be when a resident was gored by a buffalo and when another resident fell from a ladder, resulting in a broken hip.
However, no WorkSafeBC coverage (workplace insurance) is provided to the residents working in the businesses, which means that they are lacking protections should they sustain injuries in the course of their work, Hayward noted.
“It is acknowledged that therapeutic communities typically do include a work or volunteer component that helps residents to build practical skills. However, these components should be an adjunct to therapeutic activities provided to residents, rather than being the primary focus of a resident’s entire day,” stated Hayward.
Academy vows to improve
In response to the notice of cancellation, the academy wrote to Hayward on July 31, 2024, via law firm Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP.
The academy claimed to have made mistakes, including taking on new clients, and was willing to improve.
But it also took issue with the fact the complainants’ identities were shielded and comments attributed to them lacked sufficient context.
“However, through your letter, JVA hears and acknowledges these complaints,” the academy stated.
The academy asserted male and female residents frequently interact with one another and that it is “widely accepted in the recovery world that in early recovery [which generally extends to one year], forming a romantic relationship is detrimental to recovery.”
In the past, the academy stated “when a speaking ban was imposed, it was used as a last resort when other steps to encourage compliance with the rules and appropriate boundaries have not been effective.”
The academy also vowed to shorten the weekly hours of its work program.
But, the academy stated, Hayward’s letter reflects a “serious misunderstanding of the life skills and training program at JVA, and the information given to students prior to admission.
“They are volunteers, not ‘workers’ under the Workers Compensation Act.
“Any amounts earned through the life skills training program are re-invested in operating JVA. Any shortfall in funding is offset through funding received by the John Volken Foundation, a charitable organization.”
And, the academy added in its defence, “while it is not the case that no training is provided to students on carrying out responsibilities in a safe manner, JVA agrees that more training should be provided.”
The academy also stated that in addition to peer-to-peer support, it does bring in professionals for psychosocial programs.
The academy was founded by John Volken, a Mormon businessman and philanthropist who states on the academy website that God had “given him the opportunity to be part of changing lives.”
Through media interviews and on his website, Volken touts a “rags-to-riches” story — born in Germany during the Second World War, spending his youth in an East Germany orphanage and immigrating to Canada at age 18. Thereafter Volken created a North American retail furniture empire with United Furniture, which he sold to create the academy and other charities.
Volken recently cancelled a press conference to address the registry's substantiated findings and appeal process. Instead, he provided a statement to BIV.
Volken said his mission is to save lives and that he hopes to re-open the academy.
“Closing our addiction recovery program at this time is very difficult on our clients, staff and myself especially as we hear about 20 lives being lost in Canada each day due to drug overdose. However, we must respect the Ministry’s decision to close us and will comply accordingly.
“In the future, we want to work alongside the Ministry to support British Columbians and all Canadians affected by drug addiction. I want to continue the fight against addiction and save lives,” said Volken.
