Tim might be a new staff member, but he’s certainly not a new face. He first came to Harvest House in February 1988 to get help for his addictions. He arrived with a pair of torn jeans, a t-shirt, and one pair of worn- out boots. He hadn’t seen his daughter in four months, his wife and family wanted little to do with him, and he’d spent time in jail. His life was falling apart.
At Harvest House, everything changed. With the help of his friends in recovery and his Higher Power, Jesus Christ, he began to overcome the problems that destroyed his life. One day at a time, he added to his sobriety. As he absorbed the lessons at Harvest House, he started putting pieces of his life back together.
Today, he has 32 years of sobriety, 33 years of a restored marriage, five children, and seven grandchildren. He’s also had success in his career, starting as a labourer and working up to project superintendent.
Over the years, he became an example of the complete transformation that’s possible when someone commits to recovery. But for Tim, it’s about more than his own recovery. He’s always been concerned with helping the new guy coming through the door.
After graduating the program in 1989, Tim stuck around and became a rock at Harvest House. He mentored many men at Harvest House over the years. He volunteered to teach an evening recovery class for new residents. He helped establish a weekly meeting for men further along in their recovery. And, for the past 18 years, he served on Harvest House’s board of directors.
In March 2020, Tim took his commitment to the men at Harvest House to a new level. He left his job as a superintendent for a construction company and came to work at Harvest House full-time.
Now he spends his days running recovery meetings, counselling addicted young men, and sharing the lessons that transformed his own life.
“I jumped at the chance to work at Harvest House,” Tim said, “because it fulfills a deep desire of my life: to help the addict that still suffers. I like to think that I have not forgotten where I came from when I arrived at the house ‘broken’ and how change is possible. For if one man can do it, so can another.”
Tim has 32 years of recovery, but he still remembers what it was like to walk through the front door for the first time. He’s lived the rock bottom that men coming into our program are experiencing. He’s taken the lessons taught at Harvest House and successfully applied them in his life. Now he’s working everyday to help other young men work towards a lifetime of recovery and success.