EASTWOOD HOME A SAFE HARBOUR FOR ADDICTS

EDMONTON - Mike Brown remembers what it was like to make the
transition from alcohol treatment to a life of sobriety.

"I was very, very frightened," he says, recalling that time nearly
three decades ago.

Now president and chief executive officer of Safe Harbour Homes, Brown
hopes an Eastwood-area house will provide a safe haven for men leaving
alcohol or drug addiction treatment to make a fresh start.

Using $146,000 from the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund, Brown's company
purchased the house from the Salvation Army, which had been using it
as a residence for women recovering from substance abuse. It will
provide affordable housing for eight men who have completed treatment
programs.

"They have done what they needed to do to get this far," he said at
the home's opening celebration Saturday. "Now I just want them to be
warm and clean and comfortable and have a lot of fellowship."

Brown, who has been sober for 28 years, works for the city as a
building inspector. When he learned the Eastwood house was on the
market, he was determined to see it used for affordable housing. House
manager John Ress and three others are already living in the home and
the other rooms will be filled by the end of this month.

Ress, who is also in recovery, says it's important to provide a sober,
supportive environment for the men who will be living there.

"It's really hard for someone who is not in recovery to understand
what a person goes through, how little things can trigger them (such
as) seeing alcohol in the fridge or coming home to find people
drinking," he said. "Recovery is a long-term thing."

The men pay rent of $350 per month and can stay until they are ready
to move out on their own.