How a steady place to live helped this Londoner find sobriety and meaningful work - CBC News [2024-01-16]

For a decade, Korrine MacCormick didn’t have a steady place to live.

She couch surfed, spent time in jail, and bounced between homeless shelters and living on the streets of London and Stratford. She was using drugs and getting into trouble, watching some people she loved die from overdoses.

But 2024 is shaping up to be different. Last month she celebrated a year of living in her own apartment. Tomorrow she will celebrate seven months of sobriety.

“My children’s father died of a fentanyl overdose on June 12, and on June 17 I walked away from the drug scene,” MacCormick said, fresh off a 12-hour shift at an overnight shelter in London, where she now works.

“I decided it was time to get sober for my kids. They deserve a mom, and my grandson deserves a nana, and my mom deserves a daughter.”

MacCormick credits her success to a worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) who never gave up on her, along with getting affordable, safe housing provided by Indwell, which also provides support services for residents. It’s a model that many in London and beyond have championed — first, getting someone a safe, affordable place to live, then helping them work on mental and physical health issues.