DETOX PROGRAM HELPS THOSE WITH ADDICTIONS

Last year, Jim Rouse's life spiraled out of control.

The Ottawa man considered himself a lifetime user of drugs and
alcohol, but was able to hold down a job in construction. When he lost
his job -- and consequently, his apartment -- he began drinking and
using drugs heavily. With nowhere to go, he slept outside at Ottawa's
Central Experimental Farm.

"I considered myself an alcoholic and drug addict," said the
45-year-old. "I was about being high all the time. I was a human
garbage can."

He learned about a detox program at the Ottawa Mission during a chance
run-in with a friend. With nothing left to lose, he decided to attend,
and soon entered Lifehouse, a five-month drug and alcohol
rehabilitation program.

Rouse, who was one of two men -- the first of 2009 -- to graduate from
the program Wednesday, said he now feels better about himself.

"I feel like I have direction," said Rouse, who shares a house in the
community with several fellow graduates and plans on accessing the
shelter's post-program counselling for the next 18 months.

"I feel optimistic."

Stories like Rouse's are inspiring, said Troy Thompson, the Ottawa
Mission's manager of addiction services.

"It's pretty inspiring that you're seeing people with chronic health
issues on the road to recovery, and that we could play a small part in
that," he said.

"It's extremely rewarding for us and extremely inspirational for
people with similar struggles. The audience at the ceremony is made up
of participants from all our programs and they're seeing living,
breathing success stories. There's the idea that 'if it worked for
that guy, it could work for me.'"

This year, Thompson expects to graduate between 10 and 15 people from
the program. Since the opening of Lifehouse in January 2002, the
program has graduated 60 people and Thompson estimates 60 per cent of
them have remained sober to date.

"In other fields, this is barely a pass, but in addiction treatment,
this is extremely high," he said. "The norm is about 25 per cent."