Dream Centre’s Annual Radiothon
Drug addict given one last chance for help
by Doris Fleck

The Calgary Dream Centre (CDC) was the last chance “Joe” had. After going to nine other treatment facilities in the past 16 years, none of them were able to give him long-term help for his cocaine addiction.

“In all the other treatment centres there was one thing I was lacking,” Joe said, “and it was God.”

At the age of 38, after years of cocaine addiction, drug trafficking, and being isolated from his family, Joe told his two children and ex-wife that he was going to kill himself.

“I was in a fetal position on the floor in my house,” Joe related. “I screamed out, ‘If there is a God out there, I need You now!’ ”

He went to the Renfrew Recovery Centre which provides medical help for addicts going through detoxification. When Joe left, he went to a local rehabilitation facility, but his urine test came back positive for cocaine even though he was clean. He was immediately rejected.

His last chance was the Dream Centre. When he arrived his urine was still positive for cocaine, but “they gave me the benefit of the doubt,” Joe said. Later it was proven that liver problems had caused this “false positive” test result.

Joe has now been clean for the longest time in 20 years and hasn’t even had a desire to do drugs. He has a good job and is spending time with his children again.

“Now I have a craving to live life and be a better father,” Joe said.

The ninth annual Radiothon fund-raiser that will be held, Thursday, September 22, provides an opportunity for the local community to support CDC programs that, literally, save the lives of guys like Joe.

Jim Moore, Executive Director of The Dream Centre, during
an interview session in last year’s Radiothon.

“We see miracles happen every day,” said executive director Jim Moore.

The CDC comes alongside men who find themselves in jail or on the street, often battling drug and alcohol addictions. This facility provides them with a safe place to stay and a program that helps restore their dignity, discover their destiny and realize their dreams.

Offering hope, recovery and transformation to men who want to reclaim their lives and make real change, the centre is consistently filled to capacity with 125 residents currently housed there.

Moore explains that the CDC has a “secret weapon.” They provide a faith-based program that includes Bible studies and chapel sessions.

“The Spirit of God lives in the Dream Centre,” says Moore. “It is really a God-centered home.”

This is seen in the results of the CDC’s three-month program. Their astonishing success rate enables about 70 per cent of the graduates to leave the streets and become productive members of the community. Men who have been helped include doctors, lawyers, police officers, corporate executives, teachers, students, skilled labourers, actors, chefs and technicians.

During the all-day Radiothon, the Dream Centre dining room is converted into a live broadcast studio and call centre. Radio stations Shine FM and AM 1140 will feature live interviews with sports personalities and prominent leaders from the business, church and political sectors who support this organization.

But the heart of the Dream Centre is told through the residents — their stories of loss, homelessness, addiction and sometimes suicide transformed into hope and restoration.

The next issue of City Light News will provide complete details about the Radiothon event and how you can help make a difference in the lives of these men. See www.calgarydreamcentre.com for more details.