Lorne was a young homeless man who suffered from addiction issues and mental health problems. He had tried several times to go to Detox but always left since it just wasn’t working for him. If he did complete a week of rehabilitation, he would succumb to the temptation and start using drugs again when he hit the street. He worked with us to try different things to get him off the street and clean-up including an excellent Recovery House. Due to issues from his childhood he can’t handle living with a large number of people. We tried lots of different things and many sources to get housing for Lorne - he was proving to be a particularly difficult case. With the welfare allowance of only $375 month for housing and knowing that an SRO hotel or the Downtown Eastside would only make his life even worse, options were very few. Lorne favoured sleeping around the Church, he would often be found on the ramp or at the back door. He felt safe here. This couldn’t continue—it had already gone on for quite awhile. We finally came up with a referral to another service provider that Lorne qualified for because of his Mental Health problems. This referral was exactly what was needed. Lorne got his own proper apartment with the help of a special subsidy which is available through this other Agency. He would also have a Social Worker assigned to him who would visit him regularly to see how he’s doing, help with any issues, talk over problems, and help with daily life hassles. This could be just the boost Lorne needs to get off the drugs. We pray we don’t see Lorne at the door again unless it’s to say ‘Hi’. Let’s keep our friend from the doorstep in our prayers.
As narrated by Ellen Silvergieter, Advocacy Office Director. Name(s) have been changed to preserve the privacy of the client.