Meet Aaron.

At the age of 12, he witnessed his mother being attacked. Her burn injuries were so bad that she had to undergo multiple surgeries, skin grafting, and intense rehabilitation. After a long hospital stay, she eventually came home and it became Aaron’s role to take care of her.

“I was so young, and caring for her became my identity in a sense. Once she didn’t need me as much, I felt frustrated and resentful. I had so much anger, and I started taking it out on others.”

As he grew up, Aaron became an extremely violent person and used drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. One fight sent him to jail, and the judge at his bail hearing asked him a question that changed his life. “If we were to release you today, what would you do differently?”

Aaron spent the next few months thinking about that question. He began writing down his thoughts, and when he was faced with that judge again, he gave him an answer! He was released from jail and joined our Men’s Addiction Recovery Program.

“Before this program, I didn’t know how to love or how to be loved. For the first time since I was a kid, I want to enjoy life again. This place saved me, and I am so thankful!” After graduating from our Recovery program, he then decided to further his education. Aaron graduated from Oulton’s College as a Human Services Counselor.

Aaron has now returned to his First Nations community in Nova Scotia as a transformed man. He is currently focusing on his health and wellness and plans to give back to the community he loves dearly.

An update you on Aaron.

As explained in our previous updates, Aaron’s upbringing was extremely difficult. What he experienced as a young child made him both violent and angry towards those who were in his community. “Before I came to Harvest House, I was full of hatred because of what I experienced…” For many years, Aaron coped with his emotions and deep-rooted trauma by excessively using drugs and alcohol. Upon arriving here at Harvest House Atlantic, Aaron explained that he still had alot of deep-rooted pain that he needed to work through, “… this 9-month program gave me a safe environment to figure out what was wrong and the issues I wasn’t addressing.”

Since completing the program in July of 2021 and through our partnership with Oulton College, Aaron has been pursuing a degree in Human Services Counseling. “The content I’m learning is giving me the knowledge and tools to work with people who are in the position that I was once in. I’m seeing now that everyone has rights and values and it’s really easy to hurt someone when you don’t understand their perspective.”

All along Aarons’s goal, once he has completed his degree, has been to return to his First Nations community. With the knowledge and the resources he has obtained from Oulton College, he hopes to create awareness surrounding the trauma that his community has faced, as well as help build a better future for those around him.

Recently, Aaron was a part of a restorative justice program in his community. Restorative justice is based on encouraging accountability of those involved and helps to support better outcomes for victims. Aaron explained that this was something that he knew he had to do. “… I wanted to make amends with everyone I wronged in my community and the way to do that was through this 10-hour process of discussing our feelings and the past.” At the end of this process, he explained that he was pleased by the outcome, leading much of his community to reconciliation with no more lingering animosity.

Aaron explained that he no longer sees the world through a foggy lens, “…I’m excited to finally live my life!”

**The following story represents the personal experiences and views of the participant. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Harvest House Atlantic or any individuals mentioned. Shared with permission.