NEWSLETTER – MAY 2026

COMMUNITY CONNECTION THROUGH THERAPEUTIC ART

Residents recently gathered for a meaningful and creative therapeutic art class inspired by the beauty and heritage of Paternoster. The session focused on mindfulness, creativity, and personal expression while celebrating the town’s unique coastal identity.
Participants created handcrafted rosary paternoster beads, symbolizing the famous 55 boulders found along the shoreline of Paternoster. The activity encouraged reflection, patience, and connection, with each bead representing both the natural beauty and cultural significance of the area.
The creative experience continued with a fun and relaxing mug-painting session, where attendees expressed their individuality through colourful designs and personal artwork. The painted mugs served as special keepsakes from a day filled with creativity, healing, and community spirit.
The therapeutic art class provided a welcoming space for participants to unwind, connect with others, and enjoy the calming benefits of art therapy. Events like these continue to highlight the importance of wellness, creativity, and community engagement in bringing people together.

BEACH CLEAN UP

Residents and volunteers from the Paternoster community recently joined forces for a successful beach clean-up initiative aimed at protecting the town’s beautiful coastline and marine environment. The clean-up saw community members of all ages working together to remove litter and waste washed up along the shoreline. By the end of the day, volunteers had collected an impressive total of 23 black bags filled with rubbish.

CBT GROUP

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, usually called CBT, is one of the most widely used approaches for managing anxiety, depression, stress, and unhelpful thinking patterns. At the heart of CBT is a simple but powerful idea: our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are closely connected.
One of the easiest ways to understand CBT is through the “ABC model.”
A – Activating Event
This is the situation or trigger that starts the emotional reaction. It could be something external, like receiving criticism at work, or something internal, such as a worrying thought.
B – Beliefs
Beliefs are the thoughts or interpretations we attach to the event. Two people can experience the same situation but think about it very differently. For example, one person may think, “I made a mistake, but I can improve,” while another may believe, “I always fail.” C – Consequences
The consequences are the emotional and behavioural results of those beliefs. Helpful beliefs may lead to confidence and problem-solving, while negative beliefs can lead to anxiety, avoidance, or low mood. CBT teaches people to slow down and examine the link between these three steps. By identifying and challenging unhelpful beliefs, it becomes possible to change emotional responses and develop healthier behaviours.
The ABC model reminds us that while we cannot always control events around us, we can learn to respond to them in more balanced and constructive ways.

NEW PIG GATE

Residents learned new skills in woodwork and then used them to make a new gate for our pig pen. Learning new skills and using them to create something meaningfull is a very gratifying and therapeutic process, this provides a great opportunity for DBT(Dialectical behavioural therapy). Perofming fulfilling tasks like this is a powerful way for residents to learn new and healthy means if getting fulfillment. And the pigs also love their new gate.

Extreme Abilities with Pelgrim’s Place

The residents participated as water supporters in an Extreme Abilities event on the Paternoster main beach.

We were humbled to participate in a new adventure called adaptive surfing, helping the physically disabled have some fun in the water! The smile on their faces is so heart-warming and it was a truly special morning spent helping others😁 What a gift to help people learn to ride waves and enjoy a great day together.
A testimony from two of the residents that took part;

“Today we went to help Extreme Abilities at Paternoster beach to teach disabled people and kids to surf! I was honestly a bit nervous at first but once I took the first kid into the water and saw the excitement on his face it made my heart so unbelievably happy! It made me realise the simple things I take for granted, like being able to surf and be in the ocean almost every day, where for many of them it was their first time. I truly feel very honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity to help them and would love to get more involved with these types of programs.” DN

“Being able to help today was an experience I’ll never forget. Before going I was nervous and I didn’t know what to expect. Initially, I didn’t sign up but now I am so glad I got the opportunity. To see the happy smiles on their faces was so rewarding and to see something I take for granted is something that someone else can’t do without assistance was humbling. While I was in the ocean helping, I felt like a kid again. I am a lot more grateful for what I am able to do and how helping with something small for me can be so big for someone else. It’s definitely something I would do again.” SF

Rise – Beach Potjie

After a period of active addiction, the principles Recovery invites you to embrace will appear foreign at first; seem as if you are locking into a lifestyle of endless limitations.

This is not true.

At Pelgrim Place, we find it is as our residents face the realities of their lives that they begin to access the freedom they always longed for.

It is as they break through barriers of warped perception that they recognize how their futile acts of numbing-out and dumbing-down actually enslaved them.

During their program, we work with each resident to cultivate the emotional maturity and personal responsibility that is required to maintain and sustain a meaningful adult life.

In this, they learn that structure holds great significance.  Within a safe and healthy framework, the good life remains theirs to claim.

Our visual features a recent beach outing. It is in magnificent moments like these that residents can envision a new future through a lens that offers hope; experience that sobriety has nothing to do with playing small.

It’s all about rising up; becoming all you already have the potential to be.

Learning to be interdependent

Co – dependency and the roles in a family affected by addiction.

@Pelgrim’s Place – Co-dependency and the different roles within the family has been the focus of this month’s didactics. In these groups we have explored the complex dynamics of the resident’s relationships and the roles of their family members in their addiction.

It is a difficult subject because co-dependency is often unrecognisable as it’s been the norm for so long. There is no real litmus test for co-dependency but through closer inspection the defects in character can be spotted and subsequently one can see the pillars that support these (often) toxic relationships.

People pleasing – Lack of boundaries – Poor self-esteem – Poor communication – Dependency

A co-dependent relationship is a kind of dysfunctional relationship where one person is a caretaker and the other person takes advantage. Co-dependent relationships are extremely common among people with substance abuse issues. Co-dependency is not good for either partner/person. It allows one partner to sink deeper into addiction while forcing the other partner to completely forgo his/her own wants and needs in order to care for the other.

For more information on this topic or programs that will help you to learn health, long term solutions please contact us @Pelgrim’s Place or leave a comment below

Baking Beats Bad Beliefs

One of the great passions at Pelgrim’s Place is freshly baked bread every morning. Besides the great life lessons of self sustainability and being cost effective, baking bread has taught the farm residents to be Mindful in the morning. One resident who has suffered from depression for years finds the menial task of creating a warm loaf of bread has been a life saver.

Depression is one of the symptoms of substance abuse which can be described as “a severe and persistent low mood, profound sadness or sense of despair”. Often these are not just from the most recent fight of addiction but:

Being a shy child

Low self-esteem

Substance abuse

Trauma and negative life events

At Pelgrim’s Place we believe that addiction is just the symptom of a deeper issue. An unmet need, unresolved issue and un healed hurt. Baking bread won’t solve the issue in its entirety but can be part of the process that helps with low self-esteem and being mindful in the morning by offering a wonderful smelling bread that warms the heart of this small community. This simple task helps one notice the other wonders such as the sun rise over the ocean and the morning birds. It helps one realize that the morning depressive thoughts might be a choice and that there is still so much to look forward to.

COVID-19 Update

COVID-19
Pelgrims Place has implemented strict protocols for admissions and staff in order to remain virus free. These include quarantine, isolation, frequent testing and stringent preventative measures.

Policy brief & purpose

  • This service user policy includes the measures we are actively taking to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. 
  • This coronavirus (COVID-19) service user policy is susceptible to changes with the introduction of additional governmental guidelines. If so, we will update you as soon as possible by email.
  • This coronavirus policy applies to the service users of Pelgrims Place.

Admission

Visitations

  1. In person visitation should be kept to a minimum, once per 6-month period at most.
  2. Visitation will only be permitted on Pelgrims’ Place premises, under supervision of a staff member.
  3. There will be no physical contact between service users and their families/visitors.
  4. All parties present will wear masks throughout and uphold sanitizing and social distancing protocols.

Holidays

  1. There will be no holidays permitted for service users until further notice.

Video Family Sessions

  • To allow families to engage with service users, there will be video family sessions over Zoom or Google Meeting. Times and schedule to be advised.
  • The session is to be facilitated by the service users case manager, with other staff encouraged to join where possible.
  • Each session is intended to be between 20 and 45 minutes.

For more details of our COVID-19 policies please contact us.