Healing for the broken
Union Gospel Mission provides Sanctuary for women in Vancouver
VANCOUVER, BC—In her early 20s, Jennifer McGibbon was broken, addicted to drugs, and felt utterly hopeless. She ended up on East Hastings in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—an area referred to by many as, “Canada’s poorest postal code.”
One day Jennifer came to a breaking point. “I just sat down underneath a Money Mart sign and cried out to God.” She then heard Sarah McLachlan’s song, “In the Arms of an Angel.” “That gave me comfort,” says Jennifer.
Shortly after, she was given a Turkey dinner by Union Gospel Mission (UGM) where she became acquainted with their services. Desperate for help, Jennifer was placed in Lydia House, a recovery centre for women located in Mission, BC.
At Lydia House, Jennifer began her rehabilitation and was soon thriving in the safe and caring environment. “The women there just adored on us,” Jennifer recalls fondly. “They taught me how to live, how to wash dishes, how to take care of myself. They also showed me God’s love.”
“UGM helped me realize who I was in Christ, not who I was in the world.” Above all, Jennifer says this was the key to her recovery.
To help more women like Jennifer, UGM recently launched a 24-hour sanctuary, which runs from UGM’s newly renovated 616 East Cordova building.
UGM spokesperson Keela Keeping says the Sanctuary is designed to equip women for the many life changes that come with recovery from substance abuse and will provide women with the safety and support they need so they can take the next step in their journey toward a successful recovery.
In partnership with the BC Women’s Hospital, the Sanctuary will also provide residence and care to women with babies under three months of age.
“The Sanctuary will provide that much-needed housing and support,” says Keeping. Because of this support, mothers can stay with their newborns even if they do not have the means to provide for them.
The cost of renovations and seed funding to run the program for the next three years is $2,526,000 and just over $2.3 million has been raised to date.
“I think it’s awesome,” says Jennifer, of the Sanctuary. “Women have different needs than men. Women are emotional; they need more care and support.”
Today Jennifer lives happily in Abbotsford with her two sons, Adam and Brandon. She gives back by volunteering with UGM, helping women who are in the same situation as she once was. “I think the women I now help relate to me because I’ve been through a lot. I understand what it feels like to be broken,” she says.
“People have a lot of faith down here,” Keeping says of the Downtown Eastside. “To be able to come to a place where they’re reminded that God loves them…sometimes that’s all they need.”
Jennifer’s story is a testament to the healing power of God’s love. “You know that nursery rhyme? Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again?’” she asks.
“Well, I didn’t know if I would ever be put back together again. But God put me back together, and I just want to give Him the glory.”
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