With a grand piano in the foyer, art on the walls, a new state of the art gym, and private rooms for its residents, the new Wagner Hills residence is a big change from the early days of the 黑马磁力-based drug and alcohol recovery centre.
The faith-based centre started in 1981 on a farm property owned by Wes Wagner, who partnered with Helmut Boehm.
"The first accommodation for people was a tent," said Boehm, who attended the official opening of the new Oakhouse Men's Facility on Friday, Sept. 5.
The new centre will house 50 men at any one time, and replaces some outdated portable housing that has now been carted away and replaced with a new parking lot.
Current executive director Jason Roberts was a resident at the facility decades ago, and he was excited to show people around the new facility.
Among other amenities, it has a doctor's office where doctors and physiotherapists can visit with clients for on-site medical appointments, shared spaces in the second- and third-floor dorms where residents can sit to talk, read, or play cards, and a brand-new gym packed with modern equipment. It's a big update from their last gym, which had rusted dumbbells and was in a repurposed greenhouse.
The intent of the new building is to give people a home, not just a place to live.
Roberts said that one motivation for building a high-quality facility that looks good and has comforts and amenities is to help the residents.
"We just really believe that the guys do deserve this," Roberts said.
Many arrive with feelings of low self-worth.
"This sort of building says 'You're worth it'," he said. This is the first time for some of the residents that someone has visibly invested in them.
"A lot of them step into that," he said.
Residents began moving in on June 27, and most of the units are now occupied.
More projects are anticipated in the coming years for the property, which also functions as a working farm with the residents undertaking jobs there during their treatment.
A new woodworking facility may be the next big project.
