A new addiction recovery house for men who have gone through detox is coming to Victoria in the form of Johnson Manor, with operator Cool Aid Society saying the demand for this peer-supported model of sober housing is so high they had to put the initial intake form on hold this week.
“We could build 20 more, and probably still not meet the demand. There is a gridlock in the supportive housing system throughout the province. A lot of people living in supportive housing want recovery, they want treatment, they want withdrawal services,” Cool Aid’s director of housing and shelter Angela Moran told CFAX 1070’s Steve Young.
BC Housing is expected to provide $1.2 million for the project across three years, with the City of Victoria also chipping in $590,000 for operations, along with $250,000 for building improvements.
Moran said the structure makes this project unique, with a $500 flat-rate structure intended for those leaving one program and who are ready to take the next step towards more independence while continuing to work on their recovery.
“We’re really excited about this project, it’s been a big gap in the housing continuum at Cool Aid and in our sector,” she said, adding this has been in the making since a 2023 roundtable identified people were hoping for sober housing options for those working on their recovery.
The 20-bed independent-unit site with light-touch staffing and accountability programming built-in aims to ease transition out of more regimented recovery program housing, she said.
Each resident will develop a relapse safety plan as soon as they move in, with options designed to help them get back on track. Moran said these options could include a return to rehab or temporarily placing a resident in a Cool Aid-operated shelter site for a couple of nights until the resident can be welcomed back into the house.
“There is going to be a lot of opportunity to make sure a relapse is not an eviction,” she added.