{"id":251,"date":"2020-08-01T16:09:10","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T20:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houseoffriendship.org\/sheltercare\/?p=251"},"modified":"2022-04-05T12:51:04","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T16:51:04","slug":"sheltercare-helped-collin-begin-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houseoffriendship.org\/sheltercare\/sheltercare-helped-collin-begin-again\/","title":{"rendered":"ShelterCare Helped Collin Get a Fresh Start"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Collin is starting to address his addiction to alcohol, thanks to the support found through ShelterCare.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Collin has\nstruggled with alcohol his entire adult life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up\nin an abusive home, Collin always turned to alcohol to ease his fear and\nanxiety. He would drink every day, as many as 12 drinks in one night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all\ncaught up to him when he ended up going to jail for impaired driving. When\nCollin was released, he had nowhere to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also\nthe start of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Collin\nwas first released, he stayed on the streets \u2013 taking shelter at the old bus\nterminal in downtown Kitchener, or couch surfing with friends. It meant getting\nlittle rest, and, often, being put in situations where it was really hard to\nstay sober.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ended up\nat a drug dealers\u2019 house for a few nights,\u201d said Collin. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collin went\nto the Region\u2019s temporary overflow shelter, where he could get some sleep and\nfood. When he started to experience COVID-like symptoms, including a fever and\nmuscle aches, Collin was transferred to House of Friendship\u2019s Emergency Shelter\nprogram at a local hotel, where an isolation floor had been set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was there\nthat things changed for Collin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s\nbecause the Shelter program offered more than shelter. It offered ShelterCare, with\nhealth care and other supports in one location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve literally used every service, and it\u2019s been really positive.”<\/p>Collin<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While there,\nCollin reduced his alcohol consumption, connected with the health team on site\nto renew prescriptions, sought out counselling to improve his mental health,\nand received support to apply for housing and a residential addiction treatment\nprogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t\nbe where I am without this help,\u201d said Collin. \u201cI feel so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collin said\nthat those experiencing homelessness aren\u2019t able to make big changes like\ndealing with addiction and mental health issues while on the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you have no shelter, your immediate concern is survival. It\u2019s not rehabilitation, or getting better, or getting back into society. It\u2019s \u2018where\u2019s my next meal coming from, where am I sleeping tonight?\u2019 There\u2019s no opportunity, no opportunity whatsoever for growth or change.\u201d<\/p>Collin<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Collin said\nthat while COVID has been such a tragic thing for the world to endure, it also\nis what provided him with the opportunity to change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before\nCOVID, the old Shelter model provided a bed for the night and some food, but\nfew additional services. It also had the expectation that participants would\nleave for the day, regardless of weather \u2013 or how they were feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the\nextra support of ShelterCare, Collin said he probably wouldn\u2019t have been able\nto stop drinking, which he did earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s pretend there was no COVID,\u201d said Collin. \u201cIt would have been impossible for me to access all of the resources I did. Having them all in one place has helped me tremendously. I can\u2019t even fathom a future not having had this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would still be using. There\u2019s a good chance I would be dead without this help.\u201d<\/p>Collin.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Collin was\nparticularly grateful for the support from his medical team in filling out the\nmany applications that were needed to get assess to addiction treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomeless\npeople don\u2019t have access to health care, and don\u2019t have their records or\ninformation. So to have all these medical forms to fill out was just\noverwhelming. If I didn\u2019t have the medical centre here, I wouldn\u2019t have\nfinished any of these.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collin has\nnow entered treatment, and is looking forward to a future where he can make new\nbeginnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad it\ntook a pandemic for ShelterCare to happen. This should be the model. I couldn\u2019t\nenvision a facility that is not like this. If it hadn\u2019t existed, I wouldn\u2019t be\nwhere I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Collin has struggled with alcohol his entire adult life. Growing up in an abusive home, Collin always turned to alcohol to ease his fear and anxiety. He would drink every day, as many as 12 drinks in one night. It all caught up to him when he ended up going to jail for impaired driving. 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