It’s been 40 years since Fr. Gianni Carparelli had a conversation with a mother searching for an answer to her son’s struggle with addiction that would lead to his founding of the Caritas School of Life.

Having stood behind this unique therapeutic community approach to facing addictions, the Caritas founder is set to release Dancing the Walk, a book outlining his four decades of service to those facing mental health and addiction battles.

Carparelli still remembers the conversation that launched Caritas as a therapeutic community — one whose work continues to this day.

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“It started with a phone call from a distraught mother when I was serving at Transfiguration of Our Lord Church in Etobicoke, Ont. Her son was struggling with substance abuse. Desperate, as she did not know what to do, I made a few phone calls. From that point onwards, I decided to get involved to help those battling addiction, and to raise awareness, I started talking on the radio, doing newspaper interviews, speaking at parishes, reaching the Italian and Portuguese community before eventually the English-speaking community,” he said in reflection.

Upon learning of the international popularity of the therapeutic community approach, a method of long-term, holistic addiction and mental health treatment that addresses physical, mental, spiritual, social, emotional and educational needs through a structured community, Carparelli began visiting Italy to investigate these communities further.

Soon the Caritas residential program and the Caritas Therapeutic Community were launched in 1985.

While Carparelli is no longer involved with Caritas, the centre continues to operate in Vaughan, Ont., staying true to its founders' vision of a holistic therapeutic community as the grounds for long-term, compassionate support. Today, Caritas offers that model through its men's and women's bed-based program, men’s detox centre, addiction service support for women, withdrawal management and drop-in family services.

Under executive director Maria Zigouris, the School of Life has seen key modernizations that commit the team towards offering evidence-based, trauma-informed and client-centred care, while keeping its humble, community-driven start close to its heart.

“This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We look at the individual holistically as they come through our door, and we try to meet them where they're at and provide unique care based on where they are coming in from,” Zigouris told The Catholic Register. “We continue to provide that holistic care, peer accountability and life skills development true to the framework with an evolved structure to meet today’s demands.”

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These include shifting the men's bed program from 24 months to 12, based on internal data evaluations showing equivalent or better recovery outcomes. Zigouris shared that shorter, modular phases especially make the programming less daunting for younger clients, which Caritas has seen more and more of in recent years.

In 2024, the team secured permanent Ministry of Health funding for a women's bed-based program, transforming the former day program and addressing a major gap in support for women across Ontario. Caritas has also moved beyond its original Italian-community focus to non-denominational, inclusive services for all.

Across these programs, Caritas has been able to serve over 700 individuals annually, a figure expected to grow with the addition of the women's program, and has historically impacted over 18,000 individuals and 36,000 family members. Still, misconceptions of who those 18,000 are and their reason for seeking assistance remain.

“ Some people think these individuals have chosen this path, but the choices that they make in terms of turning to substances are often a form of coping with past trauma. For many of our male clients, being abused or witnessing abuse was not their choice, and so at a certain point, substance use is the only option that they feel they can turn to and depend on,” Zigouris said, citing mandatory psychotherapy, trauma-informed care and vulnerability-building in the therapeutic community as countermeasures.

Amid modern adaptations and misconceptions, the heart of Caritas remains unchanged from Carparelli's vision set in motion four decades ago. The founder will be present at an education-raising event at Montecassino Event Venue in Vaughan on March 15 as his retrospective officially launches, with all proceeds from book sales going towards a house for ex-inmates returning to a free life in Viterbo, Italy.

With Caritas’ support reaching 40 years and remaining primed for more, Carparelli reflected on the deeper purpose that has sustained the centre’s mission from his first phone call to today.

“It is not enough to be clean from substances for a while. There is a need, in many cases, to reconstruct the integrity of a human being: physical fitness, psycho-emotional balance and a spiritual understanding of the value of life. I remember what the Gospel of Luke (2:52) said about the raising of Jesus, ‘He grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man,' ” he said.

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For Zigouris, her ongoing inspiration comes from witnessing clients' daily progress and milestones in recovery, one day at a time.

“Every day, there is a small win. The determination and motivation our clients put towards their recovery in terms of not only being vulnerable to their story but also rebuilding relationships with their families over time, to me, is what inspires me in continuing to do the work that we do here every day and have done for the last 40 years.”