New recovery house soon

Excerpt from www.castanet.net - Chelsea Powrie

Penticton's Discovery House will soon have another location to fulfill their mission statement: "Returning fathers to children and sons to families."

The local charity, which houses men while they go through substance addiction treatment and helps them get back on their feet with employment, has a third housing location opening Jan. 1, 2020. 

"We're doing a pilot project for what we call a third-stage house, so we've got guys who have currently been with the Discovery House for eight months up to a year and a half, so they will be transitioning from our second house on Wade Avenue over to our new place," explained operations manager Blaine Russell.

"And we're going to be able to transition some guys from our place on Winnipeg to Wade, so it's going to open up some doors for guys to stick around a little longer in a sober environment."

Russell said the four-bed place, located on Cossar Avenue, will allow some of the men to spend more time under the supportive Discovery House umbrella, which can contribute to their long-term success in sobriety.

"What we find statistically, when guys stick around a little longer, six months to a year, they have more of a foundation so when they are ready to leave they have that base," Russell said.

"They have gone back to work, they have done their 90 days of treatment which they start with, so their recovery is solid and the network of people to help them out is solid as well."

He speaks from experience. All of the men working on the project have gone through recovery themselves, so they understand. 

They have the new location nailed down, but are looking for donations of furnishings to help make it into a functioning home for the men who will me moving in in a few short weeks. 

"The guys that are moving over there are still really early in recovery and don't have the means to get everything else," Russell said. "Any little thing will help for sure."

For more information on Discovery House or to find out how you can donate, click here or call the house at 250-490-3076.