Okanagan Discovery House shedding the light on addiction and removing the stigma

Illuminating the darkness of addiction and removing the stigma are the objectives of the second annual Discovery House Shed the Light on Addiction campaign.

This year’s goal through the pre-purchase of holiday lights at $10 each or a strand of 25 for $250 is to raise $25,500.

“People can purchase the lights in memory of somebody or even just to support people who are in recovery,” said Discovery House executive director Jerome Abraham. “Last year we raised enough to support the subsidy cost of three rooms for a year. That has had a big impact on having those beds open for people who are in need of long-term recovery but who could not otherwise afford it.

“I’m sure it’s made a huge individual impact on a lot of people’s lives.”

One of those lives belongs to former client Richard Haughian, who was addicted and homeless when he “stumbled through the gates” of the first Discovery House location on Wade Avenue nearly a decade ago.

An addict by the time he was in Grade 8 and dealing drugs as well, he blamed his addiction and “self-medicating” on the guilt and shame he felt at the death his younger sister, who drowned when he was 10.