After struggling with addiction for years, Jake Laliberte is now over 100 days sober and wants to use his experience to help others who are facing similar challenges.
Jake Laliberte got a second chance at life at the Fort Simpson Warming and Homeless Shelter. He now works at the same shelter, run by the Dehcho Society for Wellness and Sustainable Development. The centre is open 24 hours a day and can support up to 12 people. The shelter helps its clients with meals and important needs such as replacing identification, filing taxes, finding addiction support, and connecting with other community services.
The Fort Simpson Warming and Homeless Shelter opened nearly four years ago to help people find safety, support, and a path toward a better future in their community instead of leaving for larger centres like Yellowknife. Jake Laliberte is thankful for all the support he received at the shelter and hopes his own recovery will show others that change is possible.
Laliberte credits the on-the-land program at the shelter with giving him a safe place away from alcohol and allowing him to focus on healthy activities. The local shelter offers land-based activities, such as morel mushroom foraging, and plans to expand addiction support.
The shelter’s goal is to give people a safe place to stay while they work toward recovery and eventually move into permanent housing without losing the community support they have built. Laliberte wants to help others in need and hopes people looking at those staying at the shelter can see beyond addiction.
