New residential program helps addicts get back on their feet – Times Colonist

Dana Tough smudges a communal room as he prepares to lead a talking circle for a new supportive recovery program in the Douglas Street Community building.

“It’s always good to cleanse the room,” said Tough, an Aboriginal harm-reduction counsellor at AIDS Vancouver Island and a recovering drug user.

“We do this in a circle because no one is greater or less than another in a circle. That’s where we start.”

The 22-unit residential program opened in July and takes up the second floor of the former Super 8 Motel on Douglas Street. The 51-unit building was purchased by the province last year to help house more than 100 homeless people who had been staying in a tent city outside the Victoria courthouse.

Read More: http://www.timescolonist.com/new-residential-program-helps-addicts-get-back-on-their-feet-1.23056224