We have all very obviously seen there is not just a gap, but a chasm, for addiction treatment and recovery in Chatham-Kent.
It’s a problem way beyond our municipal borders.
But within them, the Peter and Cathy Quiring Foundation is seeking to fill in that chasm.
It’s a bold plan, one supported by the municipality.
The Quiring Foundation, utilizing its Foundation of Hope Recovery Community, is to take over 110 Sandys St. in Chatham from the municipality to at first run a stabilization and assessment program, followed by structured recovery and personal development programs.
Long-term, the foundation plans to offer a seven-stage recovery model, including beds for transitional housing and reintegration, with a goal of life-long mentorship, allowing recovered people get back into the community.
Perhaps Peter Quiring, in speaking to council recently, summed it up best.
“Our goal is really simple. When somebody is ready for recovery, we’re going to be there.”
Too often, when someone is ready to embark on the rough road of recovery, they have to wait. And an addict forced to wait generally means a relapse.
We applaud the Foundation of Hope, the Quirings and everyone involved. It will take time, and there will be hiccups, but this endeavour should truly help a sector of our homeless to get clean and get back on their feet.
It is interesting to note that the folks who purchased the former Victoria Park school property on Murray Street in Chatham and basically loaned it to the municipality for several years as an emergency shelter for the homeless – something they did not need to do as private developers – were essentially vilified for their philanthropic effort. Yes, it shifted a lot of our homeless out of the downtown corridor where a number of the Victoria Park Place owners had other property, but it gave the municipality a short-term option when there seemed to be little effort to find an alternative.
These people were held in extreme disregard by some, and yet the Quirings – and we thank them for becoming so involved to help so many people in need in our communities – are being heralded as champions for the addicted.
They are bringing proposed solutions with them, rather than the stopgap effort that once was Victoria Park Place. But in 2022, the emergency shelter was exactly what was needed then.
Times have changed and we hope for great successes at 110 Sandys St.
