Meet Our Team

At ROAR, we are a small but deeply dedicated team who have been with the program since its inception. Each of us brings years of experience in addiction treatment, mental health support, and community care, with a focus on harm reduction and healing for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

We’re not just professionals — we’re people who have navigated recovery and care deeply about your journey. Each member of our team is committed to creating a supportive, non-judgmental space where you can show up as you are. We believe in meeting clients where they’re at, walking alongside them through challenges, and celebrating progress — no matter how big or small.

Empathy is the foundation of our work. We listen, understand, and respond with compassion. We take the time to get to know you and your story, and we hold space for your lived experience in every session.

With decades of combined experience in addiction and recovery services, our team brings trusted, evidence-based practices to the work we do. We understand the complexities of addiction and the barriers our community faces — and we’re here to help you navigate them.

Our mission is simple: to walk beside you, support your goals, and help you discover what recovery looks like for you.

You’re not alone. We’re here — and we’re with you every step of the way.

JP Grimard - Creator and Developer/Clinical Lead

JP brings over 18 years of experience to the program. He has worked extensively in addiction services and within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

JP graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2007 with a Masters in Education, specializing in Counselling Psychology. He is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). For 14 years, he worked for Vancouver Coastal Health as a Clinical Counsellor and as a Clinical Supervisor in addiction services.

During his tenure with Vancouver Coastal, JP also developed and launched two outpatient treatment programs for addictions and mental health. One of those programs was VAMP (Vancouver Addictions Matrix Program). VAMP is a 16 week outpatient program for queer men struggling with substance use. The second program STAR (Sisters Together Active in Recovery), is an outpatient program for all women, focusing on mental health and addiction treatment.

In 2021, JP returned home to Winnipeg to help care for a family member. Following this move, he launched JP Grimard Clinical Counselling. He also started working with Our Own Health Centre and this lead to the development of what is now the ROAR program. JP wrote ROAR using the most effective approaches in addiction treatment based on his previous work in Vancouver.

He lives in Winnipeg with his partner Bradford and his dogs Oscar and Max.

Mercedes Rohr - Program Facilitator

Mercedes has been dedicated to learning about recovery since 2019. Since entering recovery at 21 years old, she has observed and gained knowledge from a multitude of different programs ranging from outpatient complex trauma to inpatient treatment and detox programming.

Since then, learning about human behaviour, healthy behaviour, different aspects of treatment and spirituality have been a priority in both personal and professional endeavours. She brings the grit of personal experience in addiction combined with perspective and knowledge of everything she has learned along the way.

Mercedes has a diploma as a CSW (Community Service Worker) and is eager to go back to university to expand her formal education in social work. Working for this program alongside JP has lit a passionate career fire that she anticipates tending to for many years to come.

ROAR has allowed her to come into her own and grow as a service provider, a person in recovery, and a human being. She looks forward to each new round of ROAR and connecting with clients along the way. Building connections with clients is one of her favourite parts about being a program facilitator as she knows the relationships you make in treatment settings can be ever so important to recovery and life moving forward. She has had many friends and  professionals help her along the way, helping her feel she is never alone in this journey. Her hope is to be able to repay that to others in their own recovery with an open-mind and a heart that is always willing to help.