Dartmouth Community Health Board Celebration

Last night, the Dartmouth Community Health Board hosted a celebration of contributions to the community by local groups and organizations. We were one of 14 projects that received financial support as part of the Community Development Fund. Of course, I gave a presentation outlining what our organization is and what we do. My speech went something like this.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, volunteers, and potential recipients of our project we would like to thank the board for their financial support.

Not a very nice night out there. Just imagine leaving here tonight with no place to go. Imagine being homeless. Your friends and family won't help. You just wander the streets trying to find somewhere warm and dry to spend the night. I don't need to imagine what that's like. I know what it's like.

In December of 1997 and January of 1998 I was homeless. Living under the bridge. Because of my alcoholism. No hat, no gloves, no scarf. It was cold. On January 29, 1998 I moved into Freedom Foundation, up on Brule Street. I lived there 62 days whereupon I successfully completed their program and was able to reintegrate back into society.

Two years later I returned to Freedom Foundation, not as a resident but as a staff member. I worked there on and off for twelve years. I was caseworker a few times. I left in May of 2012. A few months later during a conversation on Facebook, a friend of mine suggested I open my own house. In October 2012, Last House on the Block Society was created.

Our intention was to open a transition house like Freedom Foundation but in a different location. The project was too big for us and it failed. And just when the hour was darkest and it seemed there was no hope, we had an idea.

We changed our mission statement and became a community outreach. We thought we could help more people and it would use less money. My wife Nancy is also on the board. She likes to knit. She said she could knit scarves for the girls in Margeurite Center or the guys in Freedom Foundation. Someone else suggested it would be nice if we could give them as Christmas gifts. And so the scarf project was started.

(I reached into a bag I had brought and pulled out one of our diversity scarves. Draping it around me I began to explain how it's made from three colors of yarn, often discarded balls of wool because sometimes the addict feels discarded by society).

I want on to explain that by Christmas we had 40 scarves. We donated 12 to Margeurite and 12 to Direction 180 and some to the local recovery events. It went so well we decided to do it every year. Because of donations and fundraising and some media attention we could help about 150 people this year.

I explained that we also purchase socks and tuques and toiletry items to include in our gift bags and that the money given to us by the Community Health Board would certainly be put to good use.

And then, to show our gratitude for their contribution to our cause, I offered the diversity scarf I was wearing to Monique Mullins-Roberts, Coordinator of the Dartmouth Community Health Board. She wore it for the remainder of the event.