Transition house residents cycling Annapolis Valley to give back

A group of young men formerly at risk of homelessness are cycling from Kentville, N.S.,to Annapolis Royal, N.S., and back this weekend as a way to support their community.

Most of the men headed out on this journey are living at The Refuge, a transitional housing community for men in Kentville, and have struggled with mental health issues or drug addiction.

What started as a way to get thesethem doing more physical activity, quickly turned into Pedal for Others, a food drive that collects donations forFeed Nova Scotia.

"It was incredible. The amount of food we got, it was insane. It filled a great big room. It was really encouraging to see that," said Daniel Smith, 25, who has lived at The Refuge for the last two years.

"I had some mental health problems going on and I ended up homeless ... I had a lot of good people watching over me and suggested The Refuge, and that's how I got off the street."

'Food is such a basic need'

Paul Finnemore works at The Refuge. He said earlier this month, he and some of the young menwent door to door inKentville, asking people to honour their ride across the Annapolis Valley by making a food donation.

"Individuals who used toput pressure on society through crime and addiction and drugs, why don't we give them an opportunity to turn that all the way around and pedal for others?" Finnemoresaid Saturday.

"Food is such a basic need. A lot of our guys used to access food banks, so it made it so appropriate."

Evan Dearmanalso lives at The Refuge. Dearman said he started using prescription pills and drinking alcohol when he was just 12 years old.

"It wasn't looking good. I was a criminal and I hurt my family, and that's not me. My family is my whole world," he said.

Dearman said his mother urged him to move into The Refuge to get help, which he did in January.

On Sept. 20, he graduates from their drug treatment program and is celebrating nine months clean.

Giving back to the community

"I was sitting in the back of the car the other day, it just hit me: I'm not a drug addict. I'm going to get some burgers with some friends. I was sitting in theback seatby myself and I started to cry," he said, his voice cracking.

"Just to think like, I'm not a drug addict anymore. It's pretty crazy. And then being able to give back with the food drive and stuff, it just feels pretty good."

Dearman said someday he'd like to start a similar program in nearby Hants County.

"If I could help one person, even if I could help one person, I would be happy," he said."I hope people will take the time to educate themselves on addiction. Because it's not easy."

Plans for next year

Finnemoresaid while the ride has been pretty challenging so far, he hopes it gives the men from The Refuge a sense of accomplishment.

He also said they plan to do Pedal for Others again next year, and Finnemore hopes to see similar organizations get involved.