H. was living in a tent off of 146 Street in Surrey, battling a decade-long addiction to heroin.

One of UGM’s volunteers, Nathan, took the time to listen to her story. Every week, Nathan would go to visit H., and eventually, he developed a connection to her.

One day, H. said she’d had enough with heroin controlling her life. Nathan was there to offer that support when she was finally ready to move on and live a new life. That was when H. stepped into the van for the first time and came back to Union Gospel Mission with him.

There, the team at the Women & Families Centre was able to shelter her and to get medication to cope with the withdrawal symptoms while she waited to enter UGM’s stabilization program, the Sanctuary.