Offering help and support can look different for everyone. For Carlos, what he needed most was just having someone to talk to. Once someone sat down with him and listened, his life really began to change.
Carlos has been a life-long alcoholic and struggled for years with his addiction – but Carlos never imagined that his addiction would bring him to the doors of a homeless shelter. However, as his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his child, Carlos found himself alone and with nowhere else to go – so he came to The Mustard Seed looking for help.
And this is where he found Brooke.
“I do not know what I would have done without Brooke,” says Carlos. “She has been there for me, seeing her smile makes me smile, my mind stops racing and she reassures me that she is on my side and that things will work out okay.”
Brooke is an advocate with the Health and Wellness Centre for The Mustard Seed in Kamloops that began to help Carlos get the support that he needed. She helped Carlos find a new place to live and even supported him through his most recent stay at the hospital. And when Carlos had no one else around to help him navigate hospital stays and surgeries, Brooke was there to help him with that too.
“She worked with other community agencies to get me here, in a new and safe housing environment, and I have a nice big room and a bathroom to use with my wheelchair. Now because of this, I have been clean for over 2 months.”
After suffering from an infection in his foot, Carlos had to have his foot and part of his leg amputated. Brooke and The Mustard Seed took the time to find the supports Carlos needed in this difficult time.
“I should have been dead a long time ago," Carlos says. “I get up every morning, sit on the edge of the bed, and thank Jesus that I am still alive. If anything, I am hopeful. I know hope never dies, and I try not to dwell on my situation. I am very grateful for each new day.”
