This article is about New Beginnings.
I am one of the investors in some real estate holdings in Saskatchewan. One of my earliest and fondest memories is when I first visited Kamsack the first year skiing was at Duck Mountain as well as snowmobiling through the provincial park on a loaner Ski-Doo from the former Duck Mountain Lodge owner.
Later that year I even played a round of golf at Madge Lake and fell in love with the potential this small town had and I saw great opportunity. However, if I’m going to be completely honest as I write this, I sensed from talking with a few townspeople that a rift may have existed between the settlers of Kamsack and the Native people and maybe even the town. Of course I was never in the town long enough to understand who, what or why for this possible rift that I believed existed.
As the years went by and the more I visited Kamsack each year, I began to realize that addiction and substance abuse was the true black eye on this small quaint town and it saddened me more so that there were so many young people who seemed to be lost in a dark place in their lives with unemployment and in many cases poor living conditions.
Yes, there were certainly problems around me that I could see and had witnessed. Unless I wished to bury my head in the sand or pretend it didn’t exist by maybe crossing the street to the sunny side to just maybe pretend everything was normal in this not-so-perfect little town.
But what I came to understand, was that some people truly needed help. And if again, I’m completely honest with you, I think I was even one of those people guilty of not rushing to assist those in need and maybe it was out of fear of the unknown.
You see, I received a phone call many years back, that the Natives were looking for a place to set up a drop-in centre in town but I really didn’t understand what that actually meant and what would be actually going on inside if I ended up renting to them. The truth is that my fear was that my building would become a black eye in town or a place where drugs might be used etc. But, how wrong I was!
You see, years later I listened and educated myself as to what the Cote Natives and their volunteers were trying to accomplish in downtown Kamsack and it was that they were trying to “help people” in their community who were dealing with difficult times, trying to battle things like addiction and substance abuse that had affected many of their lives.
There were, unfortunately, many who didn’t make it because they didn’t have the resources and support to turn their lives around at that time.
Learning this, and thinking about it while I was driving through the Town of Kamsack, I realized that this small town was overflowing with churches and even a Kingdom Hall. So I knew there was a town of Christian-loving people who existed here amongst us, and it made me think to remember the quote “to love thy neighbour.” So, when I was approached again in early 2017 to see if I would rent my property to members of Cote First Nation, I didn’t hesitate, and after a year of hard work on the part of people like Wanda and Jamie and the Cote chief, as well as many others, this drop-in centre has now been recognized as a model example for other towns across Canada and I’m very proud to say that those who operate this unique drop-in centre have now been invited to Montreal at the end of May this year to share their success stories with Health Canada.
“Share what stories?” you ask.
The stories are that in only one year, close to 30 individuals have escaped their addictions with the assistance and education programs and dedication of hard-working individuals within these walls.
Dr. Skinner from Saskatoon, who visits every two months to help with certain health issues, has been an important benefit. I heard that they are also working with the former Sunrise Health Region and have a clean needle exchange program and free condoms as well as extremely important educational programs that are benefiting many people.
Whether you agree with it or not, the fact that 300 to 500 people on average pass through those very important doors each and every month is clearly making a difference in this community.
I would like to say that for those few who may like to see this type of place closed, with the attitude “not in my backyard,” just remember that education is what can change a person and in turn change a community and hopefully a town for the better.
So maybe next time you see a person walking in or out of the drop-in centre, maybe say a prayer in your heart for him or her, as many are seeking hope and change for the better in their lives with some already succeeding.
Congratulations to those who are succeeding and thank you for taking the time to read this important article. I wish those folks the best and I look forward to seeing fewer people addicted on the streets of Kamsack over the coming years. Maybe with a little help from the town’s residents and our prayers, who knows what can be accomplished with a little support from all of us? And just maybe, this is a “new beginning” for a once-thriving town called Kamsack.
