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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 14, 2012 · 10 K a r a s t a n A r e a R u g s · M i r a g e H a r d w o o d Peerless Carpeting · Buyers Edge Guarantee · 200 Store Buying Power P e r s i a n NOW ON SALE kville Just Arrived in Oa R u g s SmartStrand Silk by The Only Luxuriously Soft Carpet with Built-in Stain & Soil Protection $ 4.99 /sq.ft. Starting at · P e e r l e s s including Installation & Memory Foam Underpad PEERLESS COMFORT CARPETING C a r p e t i n g ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog a better side of life: Charlie has made it from shelters to a supportive housing pro- CARPET & AREA RUGS FLOORSFIRST 200 STORE BUYERS EDGE GUARANTEE Continued from page 1 Issue not going away gram in Oakville where he's seeing a new way of life. Charlie, Oakville · 2 0 0 S t o r e B u y i n g NO #1 RATED HARDWOOD HARDWOOD HARDWOOD SUPERSTORE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS ONLY: 125 Cross Ave. TRAFALGAR VILLAGE OAKVILLE · 905-849-4472 Mirage Hardwood · Karastan Carpeting · 228 KING ST. E. Hamilton · 905-546-1921 Persian Rugs Charlie found himself in a Mississauga shelter after an alcohol addiction led to the end of his marriage and the loss of his job. "I've never been in one (a shelter) in my life. As far as food, you get fed good meals, your bedding was neat. But there was a lot of fights, it was full of drugs and booze and the police were there every night." He eventually made it to Oakville's Lighthouse shelter. He said it was the best one he's ever been to. But it was no place to overcome his battle with alcohol. That's when a counsellor let Charlie, 58, know about an addiction supportive housing program, known as ASH. Through ASH, he was placed in an Oakville townhouse that he shares with other single men who were either homeless or on the brink of homelessness. He hasn't had a drink since August of last year. "My spirits are up. They give you a nice room, enough money to buy meals. You couldn't ask for a better place. But it's temporary. It's a one or two-year program and seven months has already gone by," he said. "It's unbelievable how fast it's gone by." He said since moving into the Oakville home, he's received financial help with dental work, he's bought new eyeglasses and he's going to regular counselling sessions. "As a group we talk about all our problems, which is very nice." Problems with his knees prevent him from walking for more than 60 feet, but Charlie hopes to have knee replacement surgery and eventually start working again. "I drove transport trucks all my life, that's something I'd really love to get back into." He said he's seen plenty of men who suffer their whole lives with an addiction. "In the end I gave up, I drank until I fell over. "I see this program (ASH) and I see a dif- ferent way of living. It's either this or I'm going to be sleeping in a ditch. I'd rather be here. To have a nice bed, a nice warm environment, it's clean, it brings a new life into you." Charlie said he'd like to see more supportive housing programs in the region. "Halton is not a small town anymore. You're going to have this problem in any city and you can't just kick these people under the bridge at Sixteen Mile Creek." Corinne, Milton After completing a 28-day program at a women's addiction treatment facility just outside Milton, Corinne found herself with a single suitcase and no place to go. The 27-year-old was recovering from an opiates addiction and she was accepted into the ASH program, which would help subsidize the cost of her apartment. She was told to look for a place within the $900 to $950 a month range. "I needed a place and I found something and moved in pretty quickly. It ended up being not the greatest situation for me," said Corinne, an Owen Sound native. She suspected that the tenants living below her were drug users, and when her unit was broken into and robbed, she decided it was time to leave. "I went to every apartment building, I was on Kijiji and all the renters websites. I'd drive around and look for `For Rent' signs. Every place I looked at was either out of my price range or if it was in my price range it was dilapidated. There were no showers, there were rodent droppings, it was really awful." Corinne knew to get her life back on track she'd need to find a place she was happy to call home. She said it was pure luck when she noticed a new posting for a Milton apartment, called the landlord and visited the site all on the same day. She moved in within a couple of weeks. See The page 11 P o w e r