Transforming
Participants shared a range of unique changes in their day-to-day lives which they
attributed to coming to the site.
Self-identified changes included
healthier substance use practices and improved well-being.
Participants also found
hope, new directions and community.
The experiences of feeling safe and the relationships that
developed were the foundations that
made transformative change possible.
I’ve been able to cut back…. I don’t bring any gear home and [because] if I have gear at home I would be doing more and more.
– Participant 8
Just not chasing the drug, you’re not looking for the drug every day and spending most of your time finding it and getting it…. I’m just slowly getting organized. I got my place, I’m going to try and get stable, like a job, I want to retain a job. This has helped a lot.
– Participant 5
I used to think to myself that I’m buried so deep with everything piled on me that I’ll never see that light of day again, but here we are…. They [the staff] gave me some faith in humanity.
– Dan
That showed me responsibility when I had to go to pick up dirty needles. It’s a responsibility to show me some work ethic too…. All my life it depends on doing drugs, doing drugs, doing drugs. At least I got to go out with some people and get to talk. We got to work and do something positive and do something that’s going to help the community because my goal, if I ever do become sober, I want to give back to the place I came from, to the people that helped me.
– Participant 20
This just symbolizes society and how they look in on the individuals and making assumptions and they may see something. This is a weed right… and that’s the way they look at us. We look at weeds as an annoyance, a nuisance, it’s ugly, but when it blooms it’s actually, when you actually really look at it, it’s not all that bad, it looks good.
They don’t see that it was caused by a struggle. They just see okay, he’s homeless, he’s a junkie, he’s a loser and it hurts. It does, because they have no clue who you are.
– Participant 27
The sky’s the limit right, I can do anything… that’s the hope I feel when I walk into these doors. Every time I walk in this door, this place saves my life, every time. Even if I didn’t even realize I wasn’t having a good day, this place will make me feel better. Every time.
Participant 22
It’s blooming right, that’s what I was getting at, and it’s nice and clean right….It’s [the site] cleaned up, and how it’s helped people; it helped make room for people to grow.
– KGB
