The Tools You Need To Save Yourself: Chris’ Full Circle Story

Every year, we hold a ceremony recognizing those you’ve helped through our addiction and trauma support programs.

At our latest ceremony, a special speaker was able to provide his own unique message of hope to our clients. Chris, a former Mission counsellor who has walked his own path to recovery, starting as a client at The Mission a decade ago.

“The Mission gives you the tools you need to save yourself.” 

This was the message Chris shared with those who had recently completed a Mission addiction and trauma support program.

Chris spoke from the heart and from a place of lived experience. He had been a Mission client, working through the same Addiction and Trauma Services (ATS) programs on his own

“I wanted to remind those in recovery that they have done and continue to do the work to get better.”

Chris knows that recovery isn’t a linear process.

He’s thankful that you and The Mission were there for him repeatedly, just like you’re there for our current ATS clients. Chris joined and rejoined Stabilization – an ATS program – numerous times, as he grappled with addiction.

In 2017, he was able to move from Stabilization into LifeHouse, our five-month residential, abstinence-based support program. It was there where he first set a goal to become a counsellor and give back the support that he was receiving.

In LifeHouse, Chris endured the loss of his best friend; the friend who had believed in him and convinced him to get sober. Overcoming that loss while staying committed to his sobriety marked a turning point for him.

What followed were years of training, education, and work experience. Chris started with street outreach and worked his way to becoming a case manager for a local Inuit service provider, and of course, his full-circle moment as a part-time counsellor at LifeHouse.

“There is accountability here: the safety, the beds, the food… The Mission cares.”

Chris is thankful to pay it forward, to provide those looking for support with the tools they need to save themselves, just like you did for him.