Coast Resource Centre – a lifeline for many
When + ike wanted to beat his heroin addiction, his solution was to lock himself into his room in the derelict hotel where he lived. He was scared to leave because so many of the tenants were drug dealers and + ike knew how great the temptation would be.
“One of my neighbours convinced me to visit the Coast Resource Centre,” remembered + ike. “He told me that I was clean but had no life. I’d been alone in my room for so long that it was really scary to leave. I was nervous, but I knew I needed to do something positive.”
From the first, + ike saw the Resource Centre as a launching pad and he immediately began volunteering. Today he spends 18 hours a week making sandwiches, dishwashing, and helping
“Just knowing there’s somewhere to go and talk to someone… or just to sit here and feel safe.”
MIKE coast mental health program recipient
out in the variety store. He also takes part in the art program, plays music, took a smoking cessation program and a resume workshop. Staff have helped him apply for grants so he can retrain and, in January he moved into a Coast apartment – his first home outside of a single room occupancy hotel in 22 years.
+ ike is bipolar, a mental illness that was diagnosed when he was 12 years old. “Being bipolar has affected my whole life,” he said. “I’ve spent months on end in a big pit; I couldn’t hold jobs. I lost my fiancée and didn’t see my daughter for 13 years.”
+ ike credits the Resource Centre’s programs with helping him cope better with his illness. “Just knowing there’s somewhere to go and talk to someone… or just to sit here and feel safe,” he said.
“The day will come when I’ll move on. I want a proper job, a good relationship, and a good social network. But for now, Coast fills the void in my life.”