Tree’s Story
‘I’m thankful for being able to stay here so I look for ways to give back’. For 7 months now, William Johnson (affectionately known as ‘Tree’) has been staying at the RAN Mission ReVive Shelter. As the son in a military family, Tree moved around a bit as he was growing up. Halifax, Regina and Winnipeg were home to Tree for many years, but eventually, the more tepid temperatures of BC drew him to life on the West Coast. As a teenager, his petty crimes started more out of boredom than anything else. He saw something he wanted, so he took it. Theft turned into Grand Theft Auto and eventually into Breaking and Entering. Tree was introduced to drugs and alcohol which eventually led him to life on the streets where he has been for the last 25 years.
After a violent altercation on the streets of Vancouver, Tree decided to start fresh in Chilliwack and ended up at Ruth and Naomi’s Mission. ‘Living here is good’ says Tree. ‘You do your chores everyday and you can eat and sleep in a safe place’. At the ReVive shelter, the guests are expected to contribute on a daily basis with basic tidying and cleaning chores. But Tree has taken his ‘chores’ to a new level.
‘I figure since I’m living here, I should be trying to help too’, and with this attitude, Tree enters the kitchen each and every day. ‘I sweep,
I mop, I put things away, and I do dishes… I do LOTS of dishes’. RAN Chef Travis quips in ‘He’s such a great help in the kitchen. We work closely together every day. He’s always willing to help in any way he can. Don't let him tell you he works EVERY day though…. He did take his birthday off!’. Tree’s journey is not over yet.
He does not plan to stay at ReVive forever.Right now, he’s tracking his volunteer hours, gathering reference letters from Shelter and Kitchen staff and he’s staying clean. His hope is that his hard work will lead to employment, which could allow him the opportunity to move to more permanent housing. The guests that stay at ReVive shelter are all on different paths. Some are in the depths of their addiction and just trying to survive the day. Others are looking for recovery and waiting for detox beds in one of the few detox centers in the Lower Mainland.
Still others are working hard at staying clean, looking for employment, or are actually leaving the shelter every morning to show up for the jobs they are working. The ReVive shelter was appropriately named for its purpose. Our hope is that each person that calls the shelter home at some point along their journey will regain their life and will gain new strength and energy to pursue sobriety and a healthy way of living.