After a life filled with abuse, addiction and homelessness, 38-year-old Jay Kivell is celebrating his 12th year of sobriety by getting the biggest promotion of his life.<\/p>\n
Raised by a single, alcoholic mother, Kivell grew up in a home where he was either being neglected or physically abused. \u201cShe made it clear when I was growing up that she wished that I was never born,\u201d he said. \u201cShe had no issue with leaving me at home for a week by myself when I was eight years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he wasn\u2019t being left to fend for himself, he was being babysat by the daughter of a family friend. \u201cThis woman would sexually abuse me, quite often. She was 18 at the time. I was six and it went on until I was about 12.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kivell said that he never told anyone what was happening to him. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to get anybody in trouble. I didn\u2019t want to get in trouble myself. At that age, I figured I would be the one in trouble just for being a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started smoking cigarettes by age 12. By 14, he was smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. By the time he was in his 20s, he was homeless and smoking crack.<\/p>\n
At the age of 27 while living in Jasper, Alberta, Kivell had finally hit bottom and tried to commit suicide. \u201cIn one 12 hour period, I got into a fight with my boss, thrown into a drunk tank, evicted from my apartment, fired from my job and dumped by my girlfriend. I realized then that it was my addiction that was in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
He woke up in a hospital bed and decided that he wanted to change his life. After talking with the hospital counsellor, he was told to go to Vancouver and try The Salvation Army\u2019s Harbour Light Treatment Program. Kivell said that he had never been to Vancouver before so he thought he might as well give it a try.<\/p>\n
It would be his seventh time in treatment, and also his last. Kivell said he weighed 117 pounds when he got off the bus and checked in to treatment. \u201cThey saved my life,\u201d he said of the staff at Harbour Light. \u201cThey opened up their arms and welcomed me, despite my deep dark secrets. They didn\u2019t judge me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kivell said he never relapsed after Harbour Light because he was finally ready to be honest and talk about the hurt he had experienced in childhood. \u201cI finally let those secrets out. I took that risk and when I let it all out, I felt relief. It was like the weight was taken off my shoulders. I haven\u2019t looked back since.\u201d<\/p>\n While he was in treatment, Kivell began volunteering every night in the shelter. Once he had completed his year-long program, he was hired on by Harbour Light as a shelter worker. \u201cIt was the knowledge that you have the opportunity to change someone\u2019s life that drew me into shelter work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n