Finding Freedom:
Welcome to Hope for Freedom’s 2022 Annual Report. Take a look and see what you’ve helped to make possible.
In this Report:
Celebrating 25 Years
As Hope for Freedom Society celebrates 25 years of service to the recovery community, I am honoured to share our first formal Annual Report with you.
Since that first day, 25 long years ago, we have focused on one thing: walking with people on their journey to break free from addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Today that is still the heart of what we do. Over two and half decades of service, this community has evolved into five live-in recovery homes and a team of compassionate, confident Outreach Workers. We employ 14 people and have graduated more than 4,000 recovering addicts from our programs.
While the impact on thousands of lives and families is hard to measure, we can know the impact on an individual life. Celina and Ian have graciously shared their stories with us here. I hope you are inspired by their courage and resilience. Their stories are an encouraging testament of the power of community to transform loss, pain and despair into faith, hope and love.
With gratitude for the past and hope for the future,
Dennis Fagan
Executive Director, Hope for Freedom Society
Port Coquitlam, BC
Our Vision
Our vision is to care for, bring joy and meaning to every person suffering from addiction, and homelessness who comes to our community. We envision a world where every person is living up to their God-given potential.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create conditions that will give every person in our home the ability to succeed in breaking free from their addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Who We Are
Hope for Freedom Society is a non-profit organization that serves the Tri-Cities community through homeless outreach services and addiction recovery homes. With compassion, an open door, and the love of Christ, Hope for Freedom cares for people that are suffering from addiction and are seeking a path to freedom.
Addiction Recovery
At the heart of it, Hope for Freedom has always been first and foremost a community of people in recovery.
Our abstinence-oriented program provides men and women with the resources, education and compassionate support they need to break free from their addiction and establish a new life.
We incorporate the 12-step program for addiction recovery with life-skills development, relapse prevention, anger management and a community of faith. Leaning heavily on our 25 years of experience and a dedicated core team of alumni, volunteers and staff, Hope for Freedom operates a proven recovery program.
The second time I came back to recovery at Glory House, Hope for Freedom’s Women’s Recovery Home, I had nothing. And I mean nothing. No home. No car. No job. No boyfriend. No kids. I felt totally alone and I couldn’t believe that this was my life at 34.
When I looked the intake worker in the eye and explained this, he surprised me by saying, “Perfect!”
Excuse me? I thought.
“If you have nothing," he explained, "then it is the perfect time to work on yourself.”
He turned out to be totally right. Before I came to Hope for Freedom I didn’t realize that addiction recovery meant doing work on myself. I thought I could just follow the rules, check some boxes and then get back to life. '
But when you just tick the boxes in recovery, it doesn't go very well.
I should know—this was my pattern. Secretly use cocaine. Feel ashamed. Lie to my boyfriend, friends and family. Feel more shame. Use more drugs to cover up those feelings.
Celina’s Story: My fresh start at Hope for Freedom
I could usually hold down a job and a home during these cycles, so I told myself that I never really lost control. But the truth is that I lost everything that mattered to me. I had no real friends. My relationships were a mess because I lied all the time. I lived in the dark.
This time my recovery journey at Glory House was the real deal. I cried. I yelled. I got in touch with my feelings. I did the 12-steps with my whole heart. I learned how to stop hiding and how to let people see the real me. And I learned that people actually still like me. In fact, some of them love me.
I met my fiance, Tyler, through one of the counseling groups. He went through a recovery journey of his own and he truly sees me. He knows what it’s like and what it takes to stay sober too.
We’re planning a summer wedding in the spare moments we have between feeding, changing and snuggling our beautiful baby boy, Finley.
While being a new mom isn’t easy, I am leaning on my own mother and the repaired relationships I now have with my family.
I have a job to return to at Hope for Freedom as an intake worker when my maternity leave is over. I have a home, a community of friends and a family that I am proud of.
Next year when I am back at work and I sit across from the man or woman who has nothing— who has lost everything to their addiction—I can look them in the eye and tell them the truth I know in my heart: at Hope for Freedom you will be given all the tools you need to rebuild your life. You will be welcomed, loved and valued. If you’re willing to do the work, you can have the life of your dreams.
In Our Recovery Homes…
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“I feel strong in my recovery at Hope for Freedom”
Clients Agree or Strongly Agree
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“I would recommend Hope for Freedom to others trying to break free from addiction.”
Clients Agree or Strongly Agree
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Of our 71 available recovery beds, most were filled between March 2022 - March 2023.
Average Occupancy Rate
My name is Ian. I’m the House Manager at Hope for Freedom Lodge in Maple Ridge. With 30 beds, it’s the largest of Hope for Freedom’s five recovery homes.
I also run the kitchen here and work part-time at the Friends in Need Food Bank in Maple Ridge.
In recovery I learned that I’m a community-minded person and I enjoy giving back to others. It wasn’t until I did the hard work of addiction recovery in my mid-40’s that I learned this about myself.
Before that, I honestly didn’t think I was worth anything to other people. And I certainly didn’t feel worth anything to myself.
While I grew up with a roof over my head and food in my belly, I endured ongoing abuse–sometimes physical, always emotional–from my father. He made it clear with his actions and words that I wasn’t worth anything to him….
Homeless Outreach
& Advocacy in the Tri-Cities
Alongside our recovery homes, Hope for Freedom provides outreach and advocacy services to people struggling with, or on the verge of, homelessness in the Tri-Cities.
We saw so many people struggling and suffering on the streets, and we knew we wanted to help those beyond the walls of our recovery homes.
Working closely with provincial and municipal governments and other local organizations, we meet people where they are at. By offering love, compassion and a listening ear, our team of outreach workers cares for the community’s most vulnerable people.
We meet people’s basic needs with supplies like clothing, shoes, food and water, and walk with people on longer journeys towards life-changing goals like housing, sobriety and family reunification.
On the Streets in the Tri-Cities…
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Basic needs were met, including food, hygiene, clothing and gift Cards to assist with essentials.
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People struggling with homelessness or poverty were helped by our team.
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New connections were made with people struggling on the streets.
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People took part in our Homeless Prevention Program (HHP)
Sam’s Story
Last winter, our Outreach Team responded to a call from by-law officers, asking them to check in on a guy living by the Coquitlam River.
It turned out to be Sam.* He had hunkered down in his truck by the river after he lost his home. He couldn’t keep up with rent between jobs. He was using drugs, which made getting out of this situation all the more challenging. He didn’t know where to go or who to turn to.
It didn’t take long to get Sam into addiction recovery. Within a week of meeting him he chose to come to Hope for Freedom. He didn’t want to be living in his truck by the river.
You might wonder, why couldn’t he have come on his own? If he was so open why didn’t he check into a recovery home himself?
It comes down to trust. He simply didn’t trust anyone, didn’t know where to turn when his resources had run dry, and he didn’t have a reason to hope that someone out there cared about him.
When our Outreach Team showed up with kind words, food, and a listening ear, he was more than willing to have confidence in that glimmer of hope.
While everyone’s journey is different. Our Homeless Outreach & Advocacy Team is equipped to meet people where they are at on their own unique journey. Sometimes it means recovery or housing is around the corner, and other times it might mean months or even years of sandwiches, blankets and bottles of water while they live on the streets.
No matter how someone's journey unfolds, we believe in helping those who are hungry, thirsty, cold and lonely as Jesus taught us–in whatever way we can.
Your compassionate support equips our team to do this work every week of the year– thank you.
*Sam’s name has been changed for this publication.
Thank you to our family of donors, volunteers, staff, churches and cheer leaders who make stories like these possible.
Financial Summary
REVENUE
$1,681,038
EXPENSES
$1,519,660
The charts above are a summary of Hope for Freedom Society’s preliminary revenues and expenses for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, ending May 30, 2023. They have not yet been approved by independent auditors and the board of directors and are still subject to change. For access to the full financial statements when they are available please email executivedirector@hopeforfreedom.org.
Hope for Freedom relies heavily on the generosity of this community to keep our programs accessible to all.
How You Can Help
Donate Now
Your donation to Hope for Freedom Society will help men and women break from addiction to drugs and alcohol. With compassion, an open door and the love of Christ, we welcome people into a comprehensive, addiction recovery program that works. Be a part of this life-giving solution with a donation today.
Your donation helps cover the daily cost of caring for residents with dignity and compassion. This includes the costs of housing, food and offering a comprehensive, effective addiction recovery program that works.
Get your Church Involved
Churches in the Tri-Cities and beyond, led by a strong partnership with Coquitlam Alliance Church, have been supporting Hope for Freedom for more than two decades.
With financial support, gifts-in-kind, shared space, volunteer opportunities, prayers and more, churches in our network are doing the work of caring for vulnerable people. Inspired by the unconditional love of Christ, church partners know that people recovering from addiction are suffering and in need of a community of faith.
“At Hope for Freedom you will be given all the tools you need to rebuild your life. You will be welcomed, loved and valued. If you’re willing to do the work, you can have the life of your dreams.”
— CELINA, GLORY HOUSE GRADUATE