Help was hard to find
Denise’s Story
In 2004 I was homeless on the streets of Mission, BC. I was 49 years old, and I desperately wanted help. I did not want this life.
But help was really hard to find.
I tried asking for help at the welfare office but I was curtly dismissed. Even my doctors shunned me. I felt so much shame and I didn’t know where to turn.
One day I found a Community Services Office and thankfully found a compassionate soul. A woman there called around to a few places to help me find a bed. The one she found was at Glory House, Hope for Freedom’s Recovery Home for women. I did the intake interview right there on the phone and within a week I was in recovery.
Today, I’ve been sober for 18 years. I have a successful career in social services and a thriving community of friends and co-workers.
Looking back, I know that I was abusing alcohol for most of my adult life. Throughout my first career at Telus and my marriage, I was a functioning alcoholic. But the turning point for me came during a rough patch for my health. I was struggling with chronic fatigue, and no one knew what it was. I couldn’t get a diagnosis or the support I needed.
One day, someone gave me cocaine. I was hooked right away. I felt like it solved all my problems.
Within five years of that introduction I was living on the street. My life was ruled by my addiction and I was unable to maintain a job, a home or my marriage.
Today, I am proud to help other women who are struggling to break free of their own addiction at Hope for Freedom Society.
When I went through the program myself, I remember feeling encouraged that the staff were recovering addicts themselves. They had been through this journey, so I could relate to them. I could open up and work through the shame because I knew they had felt it too.
After graduating from recovery and pursuing my education in social services at Douglas College, I came back to Hope for Freedom Society as the Director of Glory House from 2008 to 2016.
I found a passion and a new career in helping people forge a new path for themselves.
The results are truly amazing when people get the help they need to break free from addiction. Recovery turns people’s lives around. They get their careers back, they can rebuild relationships. They contribute to their community. They build self esteem to pursue a better future for themselves and their families.
I’m still involved at Glory House. Today, I work with the women’s groups and I provide counselling. I’ve tried to retire a few times, but it just doesn’t stick.