GENESIS EASES ADDICT'S TRANSITION

Al Harvey is carving a dragon for his daughter out of wood in his room
at the Salvation Army Caring Place. It's one of the ways he's trying
to re-establish a relationship with her after losing his way to
crystal meth addiction and ending up homeless in Whalley, Surrey's
roughest neighbourhood.

Crystal meth was his way of trying to anaesthetize the searing pain he
felt after the murder of his 23-year-old old son Alan Bryan Harvey in
August 2004. His son's body wasn't found until a month after he was
murdered and it took until December 2007 for a suspect to be charged.

Crystal meth addiction and homelessness weren't anywhere on the
horizon for Harvey prior to his son's murder. He'd raised two kids,
worked 20 years at a union job and coached baseball and hockey.

But the brutal death of his son changed all that.

"It put me in a bad state. I went down the tubes and into a deep
addiction," said Harvey.

It was only after police finally arrested someone for his son's murder
that he could "breathe again."

One of his biggest motivations to get clean was being able to show up
in court to face his son's killer "clean and sober."

Harvey hasn't used crystal meth for the last seven months and he's
beginning to feel positive about his future again since entering the
Genesis transitional housing program at the Caring Place two and a
half months ago.

"It's really comfortable and nice to be in a place where the only
judgment on me comes from myself. It's given me the self-esteem and
everything that I need to get back on track," he said.

Harvey likes the fact that at Genesis everyone has an individual
program they follow that's geared towards their own needs.

Harvey has gone through intensive programming at Alouette Addictions.
He has an addictions and a grief counsellor he talks to regularly. He
has a new dream: to become an addictions counsellor himself.

Crystal meth's hold over him is dissipating but quitting was
rough.

"I loved my drug. It took care of me. It squashed all the feelings of
grief and everything I had and it made me feel good. But I can't have
the drug without all the rest of the bull that goes along with it," he
said. "You don't go back to having a casual drug habit."

He's grateful to the Salvation Army staff for helping him get through
the start of his transition to a healthy life.

"They're very caring," he said. "You can talk to them on a one-on-one
basis and they understand everything."

Liam, who asked that his last name not be used, had a family with
three daughters, a house he owned and a successful business but then
heroin destroyed everything.

He ended up homeless for four years and lost everything.

"It was really, really hard," he said.

Liam has been in the Genesis program for 10 months after getting help
for his heroin addiction at Maple Ridge Treatment Centre.

He now lives in one of the suites in the transitional housing
program.

He's impressed with the staff's "level of understanding and their
compassion and their ability to work with each person as an individual
rather than lumping you in with a group with a blanket set of rules
and no give and take."

"They're really supportive if you have a bad day, if you feel like
you're going to use," he said.

Liam said without Genesis his future would've been
bleak.

"I would've been using again within a week or two because it's just so
grim (being homeless). If you're in a situation like that you might as
well be high. Everybody else around you is," he said.

Starting over again isn't easy but he's hopeful he will be able to
move into a place with his daughter next year once he heals enough.

"It's a transition. You're learning to live on your own again and
reconnecting with the community and family if you can. It's all about
doing it gradually. That's why I'm not rushing to get a place with my
daughter so I'm not disappointing her by screwing up," said Liam.

Corinne Lawrence, the coordinator of Genesis, said the program has a
high success rate with people going on to live independently or to
seek further addictions treatment.

"Staff make sure clients are connected with a psychiatrist and family
doctor and take their medication if they are prescribed any. There's
also 24-hour support available if people are having a crisis. Staff
develop an individual plan for each client, which could include
addictions programs, group recovery and Bible study, among other things.

Lawrence said Genesis is crucial because often people go through
addictions treatment and then have nowhere to return but the street.

"There's no place to go so they end up right back to where they were
before," she said.

Genesis is Christian-based and all clients are told that before they
agree to sign up for a minimum of three months. But no Christian
elements are forced on them, said Lawrence.

However, they have the option of Bible study and they can have staff
pray for them if that helps them in their recovery, she said.

There's no pressure to move on after three months. Clients are
encouraged to stay until they feel ready.

Staff work to create a sense of community and even
family.

"A lot of them call me mom. 'Mom's in. We've got to do this.' We're
kind of laid back. It's more of a family atmosphere. That's what we
want because a lot of them don't have families and they don't have
that family support," she said.

For those that do have family, Genesis helps them re-establish
relationships.

Lawrence said Genesis considers the occasional relapse to be part of
recovery. If a client uses drugs or alcohol they work with them to get
back on track.

"We don't just turf them out when they have a slip right away," she
said.

Having people in transitional housing who are getting their lives back
together is inspirational for homeless clients who are coming in every
night to sleep on mats, said Lawrence.

"It kind of gives hope to people who are right in their addictions and
struggling that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Lawrence.

While homelessness can often feel like an insurmountable problem,
Genesis shows that with enough help and support people can get off the
street permanently and thrive.