It’s amazing the difference a home can make in a person’s life.
Residents of Esther’s House, a men’s transitional home, are finding out how an affordable and safe place to live can create stability, allowing them to heal and work toward goals.
The facilty was created by the Nanaimo Transitional Housing Society, a branch of the Victoria Human Exchange, which formed in Victoria more than 19 years ago to help support and advocate for people and offer shelter and family-like housing for individuals.
The Nanaimo home, which is drug and alcohol free, opened in October.
For Stephen Bowman, who moved into Esther’s in November, it has given him a place to stabilize. Bowman has struggled with addictions and has been in and out of prison.
“It’s the first time I’ve gotten out of jail and went to somewhere that would help me,” he said. “Usually I just get out, no support, no money and no place to go and eventually become addicted again within a short period of time.”
The difficulty he often faces is trying to find a place to live that is drug and alcohol free and supportive. While in Esther’s House Bowman was able to build on the foundational skills he learned while attending Guthrie House.
Guthrie House, a four-month program offered at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre, focuses on developing relationships, building self-esteem and healing emotions to break bad habits and overcome substance abuse.
Bowman said Esther’s House has allowed him to continue building on the tools he developed in Guthrie and he has been clean for almost two years.
“It’s helped me get on my feet and get away from undesirable associates and stay safer and stay clean,” said Bowman. “It actually helped me to change my life.”
Bowman is moving into his own place and the society has given him furniture and a few basic pantry supplies to get started. While they are small things, they add up to a lot for someone who doesn’t have them, he said.
Forging friendships and support networks in the community is a big part of living in the home. Shawn Richards, the house facilitator, helps enforce the rules of the Esther’s House, acts as a mentor and offers peer support.
Richards has struggled with his own addictions and can relate to what Bowman and other residents are going through.
He has been clean for four years and works at various agencies in Nanaimo to support people overcoming addiction, mental health and homelessness issues, including the Balmoral Hotel and the First Unitarian Fellowship cold weather shelter.
Not everyone staying at the home has an addiction or mental health issue. People come from various backgrounds and have different reasons for being homeless or in danger of being homeless. Residents have included a senior recovering from heart surgery, a dialysis patient and others.
Richards said the dialysis patient came from the Lake Cowichan area. He was Esther’s House’s first resident and died in Hospital in December.
“He had never really had a home. He was living in a hotel and in really bad condition,” said Richards.
While in the home, the man was able to get support from Richards and other residents to buy groceries, make dinner and receive treatment at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
There isn’t a set program in the home, as everyone has a different situation they come from, but residents are encouraged to form a plan for the future and work toward that goal. Those goals are achieved with the help of community support programs, such as Literacy Nanaimo and Vancouver Island Health Authority programs.
Leanne Salter, chairwoman of the Nanaimo Transitional Housing Society, said she’s seen remarkable changes in the residents.
“When they first come in they are on edge and you can tell they have been through some crisis that has occurred and they are not content and not feeling stable,” she said.
After they settle in, the men begin to feel safer, she said, which allows them to work toward goals they set for themselves.
The society receives referrals from various different community and government organizations as well as self-referrals. Everyone entering the home undergoes an interview process. Residents pay $400 a month in rent.
The seven-member volunteer board hopes to build on the success of the men’s transition house and open a home for women. Salter said the project depends on raising money and the society is seeking donations. It’s also seeking a donation of a fire extinguisher and mattress covers for the men’s house.
Salter said the Nanaimo community has already been phenomenal in stepping forward and helping with the project.
“It’s has been remarkable the help from the community,” said Salter.
For more information about the Nanaimo Transitional Housing Society or to donate, please call 250-668-6008.