For Mark G., trying to overcome substance use has been a tumultuous and rocky road. But thanks to multi-year funding from the Community Foundation for Discovery House programming, Mark has been able to overcome setbacks and continue his journey towards recovery.

In 2020, it appeared that Mark was setting on a new positive path, having completed two programs at DiscoveryHouse and just about to celebrate a year of abstinence. Unfortunately, he relapsed and experienced a near fatal overdose.

Mark endured a brutal few months living in his car and on the streets of Penticton before re-enrolling in a Discovery House treatment program and into the same subsidized bed that he originally entered in 2020.

This time Mark was desperate to live and felt ready to face and address deeper issues underlying his substance use challenges, which have plagued him for much of his adult life and trapped him in a repetitive destructive cycle.

Through Discovery House programming, including trauma counseling, Mark has become a true example of what can be achieved when people are given second chances, long-term recovery and housing support, a sense of belonging, and love that they have been missing their entire lives.

He will soon celebrate one year free of substance use, is moving into his own apartment, is gainfully employed, is in the process of regaining and repairing some of his extended family relationships, has built a strong group of recovery peers in Penticton and Kelowna, and is working as a Discovery House volunteer.

Additionally, because of Community Foundation funding, Mark is still receiving clinical counseling at Discovery House as part of their Brother’s In Recovery alumni program. Mark is an example of someone who needed and deserved a second chance to become a productive member of our community and to stand on his own two feet.