Yesterday and today we visited Careline Crisis and Trauma Centre. Careline’s mission is “to provide support and direction to the community in their darkest hour.” The Careline Trauma team attend around the clock calls from police, security companies and the public regarding various trauma situations such as rape, suicide, murder, robbery, housebreaking, death, domestic violence or car accidents. Often incidents of substance abuse and chemical dependency are referred to the Halfway House for further care. The Centre offers intervention, emotional support and trauma debriefing.
Our ministry was focused on the Careline Halfway House. It’s a long term Christian based facility for people recovering from every kind of addiction including drugs, alcohol, gambling, sexual issues, anger issues, etc. In the case of drug and alcohol abuse, once someone completes detox at a registered rehabilitation facility, they can join the Careline Halfway House for ongoing care ranging from 3 months to 2 years.
We spent several hours talking and interacting with the Careline residents. We enjoyed getting to know them and hearing some of their stories. It was encouraging to hear about the progress each one of them were making. When talking about future plans and visions, the general response was, “I’m just focusing on one day at a time right now.” In addition to the one on one interactions, our team was also able to present a skit about addiction, lead worship, and a couple of our team members were able to share their testimonies.