Live-in support centre proposed to fill gap in addictions treatment in Waterloo region

Kitchener's Sherif Louka sees a deadly gap in addiction services — one that he wants to bridge with a new live-in support centre for men overcoming substance abuse.

The centre would provide shelter for men who had gone through a seven-day withdrawal management program and were waiting to get into an addiction treatment program. 

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But Louka told CBC News his home would go beyond the basics, providing residents with counselling, social outings and connection to family doctors and legal aid.

"We destroy a lot of things when we're using," he said. "So I'm hoping that I can ... work with them so that we can get everything figured out, so when they go to treatment they can come out brand new people."

Two month wait for treatment

Louka said people often have to wait at least two months between withdrawal management and treatment, so there's a need for transition housing and supports.

In that time, he said it's not uncommon for a person to go back to using drugs and either overdosing, ending up in jail, or simply losing the will to end their addiction.

To actually walk away from the addiction and, most of all, walk away from that lifestyle, this is a miracle.- Sherif Louka

"That's it, they don't think about recovery anymore," he said. "So why don't we just take them while they're on fire and they actually want to do something about it?"

Louka's so convinced that his idea will work that he's already registered his non-profit charity — House of Freedom — and has an engineer working up some rough drawings. 

He also plans to meet with the local health integration network to ask for a provincial grant, which he said would help pay for some of the start up and staffing costs.

He said residents would also be asked to pay a fee while staying at the home, and the amount charged would depend on their income.

Up and running in two months

If his home becomes a reality, it would not be the first transition home in the province.

Louka is basing it loosely on a shelter he stayed at in Toronto, while he was recovering from his own opioid addiction eight years ago. 

"It was one of the hardest things that I ever did in my life," he said. "To actually walk away from the addiction and, most of all, walk away from that lifestyle, this is a miracle."

He hopes that his own story will set a positive example for the men who stay at the home, giving them hope that if he could do it, "anybody can." 

Although he is working on the transition home in his spare time — he said he works full time at an automotive company.  His hope is to have the home up and running in a couple of months, provided he is able to raise enough money.