Mary's Story
- Mary is a 67 year old woman who recently separated from her husband of 47 years who met another woman. Mary was unsure of herself and fearful of life without her husband. She had never paid bills nor had any responsibility for managing finances.
- Mary also had a history of childhood sexual abuse and had not yet recovered from the loss of her granddaughter in a fire. When Mary’s husband left, many of these past occurrences resurfaced and resulted in Mary being unable to function independently.
- She was referred to North House, received a rent subsidy and participated in WrapAround. After 8 months Mary was living independently with much success.
Clara's Story
- Clara is a young woman who recently moved from Toronto to her mother’s home. Clara, as a former prostitute and crack addict was convinced that her life would end if she didn’t get out of Toronto. She checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for several months until she felt confident enough to return to Toronto and a “normal life”.
- The pressures were too great however and she relapsed but was strong enough to know that she could not live in Toronto. Her mother suggested that she come and live with her.
- Clara was referred to North House by her counsellor and through the rent subsidy and WrapAround is now working full-time and clean of drugs and alcohol. She has left North House and moved onto another community and a better job. She is a confident, forward looking young woman in stark contrast to the frightened, unsure woman who moved into North House last spring.
A Client's Letter
I want to thank North House for everything they have done for my son and I. I learned about North House after having an accident and breaking my back. Someone from Operation Scugog told me about an organization that they thought could help me.
When I broke my back I had recently moved to Uxbridge and did not know very many people. Before my accident I was doing o-k, getting by, supporting my son and myself. After breaking my back, my life changed dramatically. I could no longer work and I was in constant pain. Being connected to North House became a lifeline.
Through North House I was able to start WrapAround and set some goals for myself and my son in order to get our lives back on track again. My goals were to find affordable housing, to make sure my son had a good summer, to heal and begin thinking about new work opportunities and to resolve some long-standing legal issues. WrapAround and my team members helped me see light at the end of a long tunnel.
My year with North House is coming to an end and I feel some stress about what lies ahead, however I now feel more connected to the community and feel supported by many people.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Brenda and Seth