Fire devastates local recovery program housing

Residents of the One Life Recovery Society pose with fake guns after a day of paintball. Five residents lost a place to stay after their home burnt down. Photo courtesy of Brett Johnson

Following a devastating fire, One Life Recovery is continuing its work to support its recovery community while raising funds.

On Saturday, January 18, Brett Johnson woke up to a call from a neighbour who said one of the One Life duplexes was on fire.

Johnson, One Life’s founder and director, said the five men living in the house were able to escape safely, and the fire department contained the fire, which was started by a baseboard heater.

“We could have lost our entire home had they not been there in the time frame that they were so really thankful that the fire was contained to one room and the hallway then the rest of the house,” Johnson said. “Why we can't go in there is just due to smoke damage. So they're working there now and cleaning it up, and hopefully, we can get in sooner than later.” 

One Life is a therapeutic community for men aged 18 and older to recover from substance use disorder and get back on track to building a meaningful life. The society has three houses it owns and has up to 21 residents across these homes.

Johnson said he created the One Life Recovery Society after his own past experience with addiction.

Right now Johnson said they have no timeline for when they will be allowed to go back to the house due to the smoke damage to the whole house. Photo courtesy of Brett Johnson

“I grew up in a very violent and abusive home and went down the road of addictions myself. I grew up in poverty, so we didn't have money to go to a fancy treatment center or anything like that, so I was going to these government-run recovery houses and stuff, and they were all pretty seedy with people using in the house and rats running through and all that kind of stuff,” Johnson said. “So I wanted to create a very nice space for people to come that could feel at home.”

Right now Johnson said they have no timeline for when they will be allowed to go back to the house due to the smoke damage to the whole property. The five men who were staying at the duplex have been moved into the other houses for the time being.

“So they're having slumber parties and stuff like that. They're really enjoying themselves, and they love that sense of community that they have at One Life,” Johnson said. “We sort of presented a few options for them after the fire and everybody voted just because they wanted to stay in that community, like, where they felt safe. They didn't want to leave anywhere else.”

He said while their insurance is covering everything to do with the fire damage to the building, it’s not covering the residents’ belongings or the furniture that was lost.

Johnson said due to the closure of the building they have lost approximately $15,000 per month in revenue which is needed to run the homes.

To help keep the programs above the water, One Life has started a Gofundme to raise money to cover the lost income. They are also taking in donations of gently used furniture.

Johnson admits he was worried how the situation would affect all the men in the program but despite the fire, Johnson said the community is still strong and recovery is still possible no matter how hard life gets.

“We had a group meeting this morning and the guys are all laughing, and we did this exercise where we're sharing songs that had meaning to us. So each guy would pick a song, we'd play it on the stereo, and then they tell a story of why that meant something to them,” Johnson said. “Then this young guy we got at the house–I won't mention any names–he picked this one song, we threw it on the stereo, and he just starts dancing in his chair. We ask him to get up and do some more dance moves, and he's just, like, he threw down hard, and everybody's laughing and having a good time together.”

During this time Johnson said he wants everyone to know that people batting or recovering from addiction can still live meaningful lives and everyone deserves a place to belong.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.