Tim Fletcher is the Founder and President of RE/ACT (Recovery Education for Addictions and Complex Trauma). He used his skills as a pastor and counsellor to develop a program to help the people he cared for overcome addiction. He realized the need for individuals to first become equipped with tools, and then put those tools into practice in a healthy, safe and loving environment - and herein lies his unique skill.

During his early years, he learned that everyone has a loved one who struggles with addiction, and many people struggled with unrealized addictions and unhealthy coping techniques. He found that 97% of addicts also struggled from Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) - corroborating the research of Dr. Gabor Maté. After researching C-PTSD which was identified as, “A series of events that occur where a victim feels unsafe, and as such, develops mental disorders which inhibit them from coping in stressful or harmful circumstances”, he concluded that research was showing that there is a physical difference between the brains of those who grew up in loving and nurturing homes and those who didn’t – before any addiction became prevalent.

He developed a list of 60 Characteristics of Complex Trauma and created seminars to go along with them. He later took his teachings about Complex Trauma a step further in the context of mental health issues. He described C-PTSD as, “An actual or realized ongoing experience during childhood which causes a youth to repeatedly feel unsafe or unloved, resulting in life-long mental un-wellness and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

His acts of service to his own community came from a place of overcoming weakness in his own life. Today, he wants to build awareness about Complex Trauma and gather support emotionally and financially for those who were struggling. The tagline “with love” promotes the organization as a judgement-free space where everyone is accepted regardless of their flaws - we just won’t leave you in the same place you showed up in.