Henry has had addiction issues in the past. Now living at Kettle on Burrard,
Henry has a long history of engagement with The Kettle, from volunteering in
our kitchen to dressing up as Santa every Christmas.
Meet Henry!
I am an ex-alcoholic and addict - I’ve dabbled in homelessness for a while, slept in parks… I come here because there are certain people here that I use as a soundboard to help me navigate through daily life.
A friend of mine introduced me to The Kettle – I came here to the drop-in center, had a cup of coffee and thought – hey this is a pretty nice place. The staff made me feel welcomed here, just with their presence and understanding.
The Kettle has supported me in all ways. I was diagnosed 19 years ago with borderline paranoid schizophrenia due to my childhood and teenage years. Many people want to keep me away but the staff here want to bring you in. They want to hear your story. They want to listen to you!
I am part of the SEED program and right now I serve coffee (at the drop-in). It’s putting money in my pocket so that I am able to go out to my favorite coffee shop or whatever and enjoy a nice cup of coffee.
I’ve suffered many family losses – most recently I lost my brother after losing my sister in 2011. The Kettle helped with the trauma that I have gone through – not only with moral support, but with financial support. When my brother passed, we had been living together in a 3 bedroom house and my whole disability cheque was used to pay the rent. The Kettle stepped in and gave me $400 to help pay the rent so that I could transition to supportive housing. I thought, 'wow- nobody’s ever done that to me before'.
I moved into Kettle on Burrard on July 1st 6 years ago. Everyone else was celebrating Canada Day but moving was my celebration! Things have been really good here. It is a clean, nice building and the staff here are great. My front yard is St. Paul's hospital so I walk across the road and sit on the benches and sit back and enjoy.
Helping others helps me – if I can help out someone in any way shape or form, I’m there. I used to come to the drop-in every night at 5:00 o’clock to clean the place as a thanks for the help The Kettle has given me.