“Losing someone you love is a hard thing.”
Joshua, who lost his home and custody of his son over a few short days, knows just how much this can hurt.
“I didn’t want to live. I just started drinking.”
For 15 years of his life, Joshua has used alcohol as a way to cope when life got hard. It wasn’t until the last year or so that he realized he had a problem.
“I was drinking 12 beers at a time,” said Joshua.
Since he has been staying at House of Friendship’s Shelter program at a local hotel, however, Joshua has been able to reduce his alcohol use, with help from on-site medical staff who are managing his intake.
“I started with six beer a day; now I’m down to three a day. By the time I get out of here, I want to be alcohol-free.”
Joshua
Joshua says that the support he has received while in Shelter has made all the difference.
“This is not just a hotel,” said Joshua. “I plan on using every bit of help there is here.”
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the way Emergency Shelter has been provided has changed. Men are receiving 24/7 support, complete with a health-care team to ensure everyone can stay healthy. This is the vision of ShelterCare brought to life. And we are already seeing its impact.
Before entering the program at the hotel, Joshua was staying at the temporary overflow shelter, where he was able to have a mat to sleep on at night and food, but not much else.
At the hotel, he can rest at night and gets three meals a day. With help from staff, Joshua has been able to apply for ODSB and is starting to look for a permanent place to live.
He said that having caring, supportive staff available to talk to has made a big difference.
“The people here don’t judge you,” said Joshua. “I like how a lot of the staff have been through what I’m going through.”
“I have hope now. I’m slowly getting better. This place is giving me hope that I didn’t think I’d have. My goal, when I’m better is to work for House of Friendship. That’s what I want to do with my life now.”
Joshua
Joshua can begin again, because of the support he is receiving through this real-life ShelterCare model that has been put in place for COVID-19.
Your support is needed, however, to help make ShelterCare a permanent reality. Connect with us to find out how you can get involved today!
