This Christmas, Robert will have a place to call home.
Before Robert was housed, Robert had been living chronically homeless for decades.
“I was kicked out by my parents when I was thirteen or fourteen years old” he explains. Since then, he’s spent time in and out of jail for different offenses that he had to resort to doing just so that he could survive the harsh elements, and conditions of being homeless. Like many others who have gone through similar lived experiences, Robert has struggled with addictions his entire teen and adult life.
Unfortunately, serious opiate usage resulted in Robert ending up in the hospital. “I nearly died from it” as he describes his most recent hospital experience.
During his stay in the hospital, Robert was connected with a support worker who committed to getting him into permanent housing for the first time in his life since his teens. However, Robert soon learned this was not going to be an easy path as public health authorities declared a state of emergency in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, many community support agencies such as emergency accommodation shelters, and housing agencies closed their doors in an effort to ensure public safety. Fortunately, Robert found interim housing for three months at the Coliseum Inn, where he had connected with an outreach pharmacist, Choi, from Mint Health + Drugs. After hearing about his story, Choi worked with Robert’s outreach worker and referred him to our Mint Communities housing worker, Richard. From there, the team worked tirelessly with Robert and his support worker, and after 4 weeks, had successfully housed him within Mint Communities affordable housing program located within Cloverdale Apartments.
As for how Robert feels about his whole experience working with Mint, and having his first home in over 50 years? “I’m happy that Richard comes by and checks on me several times a week, and that the pharmacy is always helping with my medications” – he says. After living with years of instability, Robert can finally relax and enjoy the comfort of having certainty in being able to have a place to call home.