Bowline Health provides essential recovery coaching services for individuals living with addiction. With in-person and virtual care options, Bowline ensures that participants receive appropriate recovery support without unnecessary delays.
The Problem
Addiction and mental health care in Alberta face two persistent challenges: limited access to services and complex system navigation. Individuals seeking help often struggle with fragmented services, long waitlists, and unclear pathways from initial entry points to long-term recovery programs (Alberta Health Services, 2023).
Research indicates that service delays and navigation complexity are major barriers to treatment. According to Alberta Health Services, more than 40% of Albertans seeking addiction care experience delays beyond recommended wait times, with rural and remote populations disproportionately affected (Government of Alberta, 2023).
These gaps leave many individuals cycling between emergency rooms, temporary housing, and short-term treatment programs without a clear recovery pathway. This lack of coordination contributes to prolonged treatment delays, higher relapse rates, and recurring hospitalizations (Reif et al., 2020).
Bowline Health was established in partnership with the Government of Alberta to address these systemic challenges by creating centralized navigation services and virtual addiction recovery support.
The program evolved from Alberta’s Navigation Centre Initiative, launched to streamline recovery services across the province.
Today, Bowline Health stands as Alberta’s leading recovery navigation service, combining technology-driven innovation with human-centred care.
It offers real-time service navigation, system coordination, and virtual coaching services, ensuring no Albertan is left without support.
Over 7,500 Albertans served annually through Navigation Centers and Virtual Waitlist services (Bowline Health Annual Report, 2024).
Increased access for rural and Indigenous populations, historically underserved (Government of Alberta, 2023).
Trained over 40 peer recovery coaches to build net new capacity in recovery-oriented systems through accredited training partnerships (Recovery Coach Academy of Canada, 2024).