CLEAN AND SOBER - WITHOUT ANY FUSS

• The photo shows seven men standing outside Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver's Downtown East Side.

   Why are they all so happy and full of smiles? Let me be the first to tell you; on Monday July 22nd they attended the in-house AA meeting to celebrate sobriety and the taking of both a one year and a two year cake. 

  Now here is where things get really interesting, not only are they Alumni of the Mission but they are also resident's of Servant House also known as the Servant's Of Hope Society, located in East Vancouver. 

  This year marks a milestone for the society in that after nine years of operation the house has not only met a complete minimum of one year but a grand total of "Thirty Years of Sobriety" In your Freaking face Harmies.

  That's right I said it, no more food lines, free Crack Pipes, free Methadone, free Needles, no more Robbing, Stealing; no more visits to the health services, no more court cases, none of it in fact. They are all steadily employed and Pay Taxes,ironically to a system that supports the very thing they have all escaped from. 

   
  Abstinence works! here is a shining example; hard work and support based services have made all the difference. Today they do not walk alone but together supporting each other as well as many who need to see and hear that recovery works. 

  Sean Heaney has been quietly running a small residential centre on the east side of town for years. He is one of the several folks who without much fanfare has been doing great recovery work for years. Let's give him our individual and collective thanks and help out wherever and whenever we can.