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I wanted to do something that, at the end of the day, I was feeling like I was doing something meaningful. — Joe Miller
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Joe Miller, the busy executive director at Souls Harbour, knows a little about self-improvement. The recovering alcoholic and former gambling addict understands many of the challenges faced by the men and women who come to him for help. “To me, my addictions are like books on the shelf,” he said. Miller was married with two young children when his wife had “had enough.” That was more than a decade ago. Since then, Miller, 48, graduated from an addictions treatment program in Manitoba and hasn’t looked back. After joining as a staff member at Souls Harbour, he was promoted to business development officer. In 2010, he became executive director after Souls Harbour founder Michelle Porter left for Halifax to help launch a similar agency. Michelle and her husband Ken established the Regina Rescue Mission in 2000, which merged with Souls Harbour Mission House in 2007 and was renamed the Souls Harbour Rescue Mission. Miller, who grew up in Warman as the youngest of 12 children, said working for Souls Harbour has been uniquely rewarding. With his addictions in the proverbial rear-view mirror, he understands the plight of the homeless, the poor and people who suffer from addiction. “It’s why I’m doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I wanted to do something that, at the end of the day, I was feeling like I was doing something meaningful.” In Miller’s few years at the helm, he has not shied away from making difficult decisions or calling attention to himself for the sake of the agency. Last year, he raised more than $25,000 after spending five days and nights on the roof of Souls Harbour’s Athol Street facility. Passersby tossed a rock and a beer bottle at him, but he raised more than his goal and kissed the ground after his effort. One of the more controversial moves Miller and the board of directors have made is to pare down the services Souls Harbour offers. Miller said the agency, its staff and volunteers were stretched too thin
Joe Miller shoots baskets at the Dean Smith Youth Centre in Regina. QC Photo by Don Healy
after trying to solve the growing number of issues around homelessness and addiction. Instead, Miller has concentrated on what the agency has been able to do well, which is to operate a soup kitchen, daycare and facility for mothers who face addiction issues. Souls Harbour closed its Good News Chapel and shut down its men’s shelter. When Miller took over, Souls Harbour had seven properties.
Only four remain. “Sometimes, you have to make the tough calls,” he said. “Some people have said, ‘How can you do that?’ Other people tell us, ‘I get it.’ “For instance, we looked at our men’s shelter and decided that there were agencies that offered that, but there weren’t the same number of similar services available to women,” he said. “We have women
come in who have addiction issues and they’ve lost their kids. And they know that they need to get their lives in order so they can get their kids back.” There are plans to expand the mothers’ addiction facility, and Souls Harbour officials are also considering expanding their services to Saskatoon, Miller said. The agency has been able to con-
centrate its efforts on the Souls Harbour headquarters at the corner of Athol Street and Dewdney Avenue. Bought for $50,000, the building came with $150,000 in back taxes and needed more than $1 million in renovations. Today, the building serves as a drop-in centre, a daycare and offices for Souls Harbours managers. “This building, in a way, illustrates what Souls Harbour is all about.”