Meet Kenny.

In June of 2020, Kenny graduated from the program and found a new life laid out before him. Sober, focused and without anything to return home to, Kenny began building a new life in Greater Moncton. He joined the local union and worked on high rise properties in the Downtown putting his skills with concrete to work. One day he found himself laid off from his job and tried to call his union rep but dialed the wrong number in his phone. He laughed when he shared this and simply put it “God has a sense of humor, what are the odds that I would try to call my union rep Marc and instead get Harvest House Marc.” As an organization we were able to work with Apex Industries to hire Kenny who has been a faithful employee at Apex since January 2022, and today is the Lead Hand within the Overhead Door Department. He loves his job and finds purpose in having a career that works for him as he seeks to maintain his sobriety.

On the personal side, Kenny just celebrated 5-years of sobriety in August of 2024 alongside his wife and their 5 children. He shared that both he and his wife went through Addiction Recovery Programs at the same time and were both fortunate that there was someone who could care for their children while they were working on themselves. Kenny and his wife Amy live in Riverview, NB and give back to the community of those most vulnerable any chance they get.

Kenny shared with me that just last week he drove by someone who wasn’t wearing shoes. Kenny’s heart broke and he pulled over and gave him the shoes he was wearing. He shared that he feels for our community and said “so many people are worried about looking at the shopping cart they are pushing that they don’t notice that they aren’t wearing shoes.”

We are proud of Kenny who is one of the fortunate ones to have been able to have made it out of the life he was living. When asked how places like Harvest House helped him he shared “I feel that it all comes back to connection…you guys helped me when I had nothing to my name. You helped me get my ID, Birth Certificate and other things that helped me start the process. Then you helped me fix my teeth which were in rough shape due to the drug use. From there you gave me a new community that I could feel a part of and feel for the first time that I had a family. That meant everything to me.”

We finished our conversation with a hug as someone who had seen Kenny when he first entered the program to the man that he is today. He is a hard worker, a community resident, someone who gives back, a proud father, a loving husband and a man of great faith!

Kenny leaves us all with these words. “We need to stop seeing someone as an addict and make a decision on who they are based on that. We need to start seeing the broken person that lives inside them. Then we can start to truly help those that are struggling in our community.”

**This story reflects the personal perspective of the participant and does not necessarily represent the views of Harvest House Atlantic or other individuals mentioned. Shared with permission.