We call our newsletter three P’s. It stands for
Place Purpose Progress. Please read on and find out more about Fred Victor and our three P’s.
FALL/WINTER 2017
Home for the Holidays It’s been a tough year in Toronto around addiction. But in the midst of this crisis, there are programs and individuals who are changing lives. We want to share a story of hope. At 14, Sammi Nicholas, leaves her home in small-town Ontario and comes to Toronto. She stays in Toronto for a bit, then goes back to her family, but is put into a group home. She has a baby when she’s 15, loses the baby, gets older and lands back in Toronto, this time on the street. She says, “Four years ago I wasn’t in a safe place, mentally emotionally, physically and financially and on top of that I was homeless on the street, staying in shelters here and there. While living on the street, I ended up choosing my demon that made everything even worse, addiction.” Now 24, clear-headed and still a little shy, we asked her if she sees addiction as something she will always have to do combat with. In response, she holds your gaze and says steadily, “I believe one day I will look back at this and see that it was a phase of my life and it is over.”
In this Issue Mark’s Message............................2 TD Securities and a Family PA Day............................3 Fred Victor’s Holiday Turkey Drive......................3 The First Fred’s Walk Fundraiser.............................4
Addictions Supportive Housing (ASH) I see my job as helping clients to seize their full selves, to define themselves NOT by their weaknesses but by the things that are important to them.
Tony Black, one of Fred Victor Addictions Supportive Housing (ASH) case managers has worked more than a dozen years in the field of addictions and mental health and he is Sammi’s worker. Sammi talks about the enormous help it is to have someone on your side: She values the support and guidance she feels she may have missed as a younger person. Sammi has almost finished her grade 12. She loves everything that involves using her hands—baking, sewing, fixing a bike, tattooing. Because she has stable housing, she can say, “Through the ASH program, I have been able to get my business licence, get my certifications, create a website and Facebook page, so I am one more step closer toward my dream of having my own business.” Tony says, “I see my job as helping clients to seize their full selves, to define themselves NOT by their weaknesses but by the things that are important to them.
Fred Victor supports 16 people with addictions who live in apartments in the community. ASH provides rent subsidies and intensive support. Soon, more staff will be added, and a total of 18 new people will have similar supports. Operating for more than six years, the ASH program is funded by the Toronto Central LHIN and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Why does the program work? a. D ecent, stable housing is essential: No one can focus on their addictions when their lives are driven by the crisis of homelessness. b. Housing people throughout the City gives people experiencing addiction a better chance of staying housed: Ghettoizing people with addictions can deter an individual’s improvement. c. Each ASH worker has a small number of tenants and can therefore provide fine-tuned, client-centred support: Trusting the person you reach out to is core to creating hope and change if you struggle with addiction.
Sammi Nicholas and Tony Black, her Addictions Supportive Housing Case Manager.
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