Behind the blue door on Kelowna’s Centennial Crescent is a second chance.
It’s where hundreds of men have made the choice to join the addiction recovery program at Freedom’s Door in Kelowna.
“That’s what people agree to when they come in,” said Tom Smithwick, Freedom’s Door co-founder and board member.
“That program is very intense on all the issues involving recovery: relapse, prevention, that sort of thing.”
The not-for-profit has multiple locations all offering different levels of support, such as the fourplex on Borden Avenue, a long-term housing program for working professionals after completing the 90-day program at Centennial Crescent.
Freedom’s Door began 22 years ago and can take on 99 men in treatment at one time. Smithwick says there are always between 30 and 40 men on the waitlist. The program is currently expanding its facilities to take on more men choosing recovery.
“We don’t have all the beds we need, that’s why we have got a current building that is about to open in the month,” said Smithwick.
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“We have another program on Belaire where we are building starting in October.”
When construction is complete, they’ll have the capacity for 117 men who are ready to make a change — men like Jake Petrie-Rice, who first joined the program in 2015 and now works at the not-for-profit full-time.
“It’s like being part of a family,” said Petrie-Rice who is the day-to-day operations supervisor.
“I had never really felt I was much a part of anything and working here has given me a lot of purpose.”
It’s been 18 years since Brian Smith first joined the program and as a thank you, for the past 11 months he’s found a new purpose as a volunteer at Freedom’s Door.
“I was just so grateful to have found this place, volunteering has helped me too,” said Smith.
“It’s a reminder every week that I don’t want to go back to where I was.”
Freedom’s Door relies on funds from the public as well as some government funding to keep men clean, sober and safe for years to come.
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