Winnipeg couple leaves encampment for drug-free supportive housing
'I'm happy we get to start a new life,' says Anna Moar
A homeless Winnipeg couple began a new chapter on Friday, moving into transitional housing with hopes of turning a page toward long-term addictions recovery.
Anna Moar and Kadin McCron lost their apartment a couple of months ago due to a relapse following more than four years of sobriety, they said.
Since then, they have been bouncing around from encampment to encampment, eventually settling on a relatively private riverbank in Winnipeg's Wolseley neighbourhood.
"Our goal is to try to get as far away from the drugs and the drug users as possible, so that way we can battle ourselves through the addiction and battle ourselves through our problems and try and make a change," said McCron.
He said it was at the riverbank where they connected with someone on July 25 who contacted St. Boniface Street Links, an outreach organization that helps homeless people and people with addictions.
By the end of that day, the organization had come to meet them and helped them move to its 24/7 safe space on St. Mary's Road.
"I'm still actually bamboozled about it," said McCron, 30.
On Friday, the pair moved into the organization's building on Fountain Street, a drug-free transitional housing complex in the Centennial neighbourhood that provides residents around-the-clock support and includes 24/7 security.
"I'm surprised it happened so fast. I wasn't expecting it," said Moar, 33.
The couple's move comes at a time when they're both eager to leave a chaotic life behind and stay sober, with Moar also needing additional medical care.
She's awaiting surgery for a broken hip and gets around with a walker and wheelchair.
Speaking hand in hand, the couple of a year and a half said they've been leaning on each other through the challenges of addictions and pain.
"I need him," Moar said. "I'm happy we get to start a new life."
Life at an encampment
The pair say their two-month period of homelessness was marked by attacks from people trying to steal their things or take over their camp and by frequent hours-long searches for food, water and supplies.
"You're stuck in that survival mode," McCron said.
Because of Moar's condition and limited mobility, McCron said those responsibilities often rested with him.
"He would pretty much put all the blankets and stuff underneath me, so that way it would be comfortable for my hip," Moar said.
"It was pretty hard. It hurt."
They also attempted to distance themselves from "hardcore drug addicts," encounters McCron said sometimes led to fights.
McCron, though, would have to keep watch throughout the night, saying he sometimes used small amounts of drugs to stay alert and awake.
"I didn't really want to use it, but sometimes I had no choice," he said.
Before the couple connected with St. Boniface Street Links, they said they had been visited by another organization's outreach team, which dropped off food and supplies and helped them apply for emergency housing.
McCron said he and Moar declined to overnight at their shelter due to concerns over drug use there.
"What most people don't realize is getting sober is the easy part. Staying sober is the hard part," McCron said.
"You're constantly battling cravings. You're constantly battling the thoughts."
Counselling and education
The pair say they hope their new building will help give them a meaningful opportunity to stave off drug use and provide stability throughout Moar's recovery from surgery.
McCron described himself as growing up in a military household marked by alcoholism, and Moar said she was sex trafficked as a teen.
They'll have access to counselling and programs, including for addictions and complex trauma, building manager Ainslee Trudeau said.
"I'm happy to say that people come in, and we help slowly, baby steps, show them how to be independent, you know, whether that's cooking on a budget, shopping on a budget, whatever the case may be," Trudeau said.
A second chance on Fountain Street
Michelle Wesley with Street Links said she believes the community-style living is part of what makes the model successful.
"It's about, 'How do I live without depending on a substance to help me move forward on a day-to-day basis?'" Wesley said.
Moar lived in the building years before it was renovated and run by Street Links. Seeing how it has changed is giving them hope they can, too.
"I'm happy we get to start a new life," she said.
with files from Marcy Markusa and Rosanna Hempel