Gerry’s Story

Gerry lived in Ontario with a history of alcoholism that started at a very tender age of 12. As an adult, he was able to secure a good life working in the trucking industry and got married. But things just went south for him. He suffered loss, was in jail for a while, tried drugs and used alcohol as a form of escape.  

With the advice of his mother and brother, he moved to British Columbia to see if he could get his life back together hoping things will improve. Unfortunately, his bad experience came with him, the troubles, and the things that he did in the past. As a result, he experienced homelessness. He accepted the fact that he needed some help, He reached out to The Salvation Army Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre in Victoria, BC and he was accepted in open arms.  

Crucial to Gerry’s recovery was his ability to stay at Victoria ARC for six months. A good change started to happen. It has not been easy but everyday he was learning new things like lessons in skills, recovery, self compassion and how to be a better person. It was up to him to catch up and keep on learning on how to treat other people, listen and with the help of TSA counsellors, he was abstinent and has been alcohol-free and is doing some volunteer work and is looking to pay the good things he received forward to others. 

“You can’t do it by yourself with illegal substance. If you think you can, you are fooling yourself. You can push it away, ignore it…but it’s not possible…I tried. If you want to put your hand out there for any reason at anytime that you think…put your hand out and ask. When I’ve been here in Salvation Army, I’m outside sometimes and people would come up. I asked and they said you just knock on the door. So as I was passing along, I did it, bit by bit.”