It has been over one year since Hope Living moved to Kanata and life for Durwin couldn’t be better! When Durwin first came to Shepherds of Good Hope he was very introspective and did not relate well to others. He stayed in his room most of the time and did not speak to many people at all. Then a big change happened. The Hope Living program, along with Durwin left the chaotic downtown core and took residence at 145 Castlefrank Road in Kanata.
Slowly, Durwin came out of his shell. He said he was more relaxed in this new environment because the suburbs were quieter. He got away from the drugs and alcohol so prevalent on the streets of the inner core of the city and was able to concentrate on creating a better life for himself. The first thing he did was learn the bus routes so he could do his shopping and buy his food. After years of not playing piano he sat down at the piano in the residence and surprised everyone with his skill. The staff were thrilled and the other residents were pleased to hear this beautiful music coming from Durwin.
He also decided to learn a trade that would help him find work and so he chose bookkeeping. Durwin then did correspondence for the lessons in bookkeeping and studied quite hard. When he felt ready, he wrote exams and scored a whopping 83%! Durwin is now a certified bookkeeper. Durwin also keeps busy working in the residence tuck shop and emptying the vending machines and counting the money.
Durwin’s world has completely changed and so has Durwin. He is a new man with purpose, direction and goals. In this new environment and with continued encouragement from staff Durwin has no other place to go but up.
