Darwin's story

I want to share with you a story we recently sent out to our direct mail subscribers. It's the story of Darwin, a resident at The Oaks.

Darwin spent many years in and out of the shelter. He says he batted alcoholism and substance abuse for many years. He remembers taking his first drink when he was 12 years old. During the years, he had a family, but it couldn't survive the challenges he faced.

One day, Darwin had an epiphany. It doesn't matter what inspired it. What matters is what he did with it. He came to Shepherds of Good Hope and became a participant in the managed alcohol program. I've blogged often about MAP and we've run several stories on Facebook and our website about this innovative program. If you're interested, you can check out the link provided.

It's not an overstatement to say MAP saved Darwin's life. At The Oaks, he has his own room. There is staff who monitor his health. They make sure he eats three meals a day. He can socialize with the other residents or he can spend time in his room. There's no more excessive drinking. He's probably the healthiest he has been in several years.

More importantly, finding stability in his life, improving his health has helped him reconnect with his son. When we spoke to Darwin, it was clear there was no more important person in his life than his son and his son's family. Darwin is a grandfather, too, and he loves to dote on his two grandsons.

He's thankful for what Shepherds of Good Hope has done for him. He knows, too, that we're able to help men and women like him because so many people in the community donate money, time and goods.

This Thanksgiving, Darwin will be with his family. But there will be many men and women in our care who won't have a home to go to this Thanksgiving. They are part of the Shepherds of Good Hope family. Please help us this Thanksgiving by making a donation. Let the men and women know they have not been forgotten this holiday.

Managing alcohol

Last week, Shepherds of Good Hope had a visitor.

Arthur Williams, an MD with the division of substance abuse, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, was getting the grand tour through our main building on King Edward, and a visit at The Oaks on Merivale.

We're going to have a story later this week on our website about his visit, so I won't give it all way, but let's just say he was impressed, especially when he got the details on The Oaks.

The Oaks is a supportive living complex made up of two apartment buildings on Merivale. The residents come from Shepherds, Ottawa Inner City Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Many of the people living there are part of MAP - managed alcohol program. Whenever I explain what MAP is, people are astounded. Basically, it's a program for men and women who are chronically homeless and severely addicted to alcohol. We don't start off with the premise that they need to get off alcohol. We have the supports in place that if they eventually want to get to that point, we can help them. But think of those three words - managed alcohol program. That's right, we manage their alcohol intake.

We manage their alcohol intake by giving them a small drink every hour. Not everyone gets the same amount. It depends on their current health situation, their weight, their tolerance, etc. When it's time to get a drink, everyone lines up and staff carefully measure out each person's alcohol one by one. By managing their alcohol intake, the clients are healthier. They can stick around in the common room, have a sandwich, socialize or they can go back to their apartment.

Arthur was quite impressed and noted he didn't know of a similar program anywhere in the U.S. As a researcher, these were the type of innovative programs he was looking at. Not only do they help the homeless who have chronic addictions, they also are cost efficient.

If you would like a tour of one of our innovative programs, just e-mail me.