The Annex

09/26/2025

A SPECIAL Blog & a bit late too but still VERY sincere!! ❤️
Thanks to the Elgin Community Mental Health Association for their donations to the Grace Cafe & their many kindness to our Guests! ❤️
Grateful!! And blessings to y’all! ❤️

09/24/2025

One of the symptoms of our problematic drug use is our black or white, all or nothing thinking. Things are 100% one way or 100% another. This lack of subtlety or nuance, the lack of a spectrum of possibilities, can be debilitating to our recover as many will not start the journey toward recovery unless they know they can succeed or can be guaranteed sobriety.
It is said that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Recovery is one of those things worth doing that is worth doing poorly. Take the step, take it back, fall and get back up. Leave the all or nothing thinking to social media stars and begin your journey toward recovery. We are on your side. 321 Talbot St. St Thomas, right beside the Grace Cafe. 226.896.0080 and 184 Davis St, Sarnia, phone 226.216.0863.

09/22/2025

A reminder that we are open for prayer, well. Monday to Friday, but specifically Thursday afternoons from 1pm-2pm. We don't only pray about addictions. Please come by if you would like prayer. Please come by if you aren't looking for prayer but would like help.

09/19/2025

The law of inertia says that a body in motion will tend to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an external force. Even when we feel stuck we are actually in motion in a direction due to the passage of time and the force of habits. The great thing is the law of inertia doesn't only apply to difficult or unproductive things.
There is a sign in the Annex: "If not now, when?" Many of us, struggling with addiction or not, dread and avoid tough decisions and direction changes. Putting them off feels like respite for a day, but prolongs the inevitable. Be the force to change the inertia in your life. Take the step, and others will meet you to walk with you. We are on your side. 321 Talbot St. St Thomas, right beside the Grace Cafe. 226.896.0080 and 184 Davis St, Sarnia, phone 226.216.0863.

09/15/2025

The pressure to conform in modern society is absolutely crushing for all of us, but even more so for those of us who are involved in addiction. When casual use becomes addiction it touches all areas of our lives, especially relationships. While relationships involving addiction are generally formed out of necessity or convenience, they do at least in part meet a very real need.
We often forget that it takes great courage to walk away from people in order to head toward sobriety. While recovery can be quite lonely in the beginning, new relationships will come. Stand strong in your goal and learn a new way of living. There are friends you haven't met yet who would love to help. We are on your side. 321 Talbot St. St Thomas, right beside the Grace Cafe. 226.896.0080 and 184 Davis St, Sarnia, phone 226.216.0863.

09/11/2025

The hopelessness and sheer scale of the modern addiction crisis has led us to focus far more on symptom mitigation rather than on recovery and change. While recovery is highly individualistic and not all are ready, recovery is possible, and it begins with hope.
When we think of hope, we normally only think of a positive feeling, a warm and fuzzy emotion. Hope is also an action. Hope can look like skipping.a time you would normally have used, reaching out to someone who is struggling, or stepping into a meeting, whether you want to or not. Sometimes hope can simply be doing something different because you're tired of doing what you're doing. There is hope for recovery. You can be one of those that pull through. We are on your side. 321 Talbot St. St Thomas, right beside the Grace Cafe. 226.896.0080 and 184 Davis St, Sarnia, phone 226.216.0863.

09/09/2025

09/04/2025

Listen....the lost art. We often want so badly to "fix" and "educate" and frankly, to be right, that we ignore being present. While many of us aren't able to claw our way out of addiction alone, the path to recovery is one of self discovery on our way to a new way of living. Even when we know what people "should" do, or what would be helpful, we cannot live recovery for them. We are able to walk the journey with them and help them to process.
There are of course drugs out there that can ease the symptoms of withdrawal and many good pathways to self discovery, but keep in mind that one of the most powerful tools we have is to listen to the individual who is attempting to recover. You don't have to be right all the time, just need to be there. We are on your side. 321 Talbot St. St Thomas, right beside the Grace Cafe. 226.896.0080 and 184 Davis St, Sarnia, phone 226.216.0863.