Meet Christine: Supporting new journeys after addiction
“What people see on the outside is never the whole story”
Christine Vicencio opens the door to her office at Kindred Place at 7 a.m. each morning. She is never quite sure what her day will bring — and that’s the way she likes it.
“I get a feeling of excitement. Every day is different,” she says.
Christine is a full-time addiction support counselor at Kindred Place, where she walks alongside a community of people ready to write the next chapter of their story. The building hosts 87 individuals, providing them with a stable home from which to build a hopeful future after addiction — whether that means finding work, building life skills or reconnecting with loved ones.
Christine, who has a background in mental health and is also a clinical counselor, started working at Kindred Place in 2011, shortly after moving to Canada from the Philippines.
For Christine, the most important part of her job is helping residents overcome feelings of guilt and shame and find reasons, however small, to hope again. She notes that from the outside, people may not always see how strong the desire is in people to move forward.
“There’s always this very specific spark in them. They don’t give up, even though they are often living one day at a time,” she says.
Christine Vicencio opens the door to her office at Kindred Place at 7 a.m. each morning. She is never quite sure what her day will bring — and that’s the way she likes it.
“I get a feeling of excitement. Every day is different,” she says.
Christine is a full-time addiction support counselor at Kindred Place, where she walks alongside a community of people ready to write the next chapter of their story. The building hosts 87 individuals, providing them with a stable home from which to build a hopeful future after addiction — whether that means finding work, building life skills or reconnecting with loved ones.
Christine, who has a background in mental health and is also a clinical counselor, started working at Kindred Place in 2011, shortly after moving to Canada from the Philippines.
For Christine, the most important part of her job is helping residents overcome feelings of guilt and shame and find reasons, however small, to hope again. She notes that from the outside, people may not always see how strong the desire is in people to move forward.
“There’s always this very specific spark in them. They don’t give up, even though they are often living one day at a time,” she says.
A small offer of kindness
A few years ago, a program participant, Janelle, began receiving free groceries and asked Christine if anyone else in the building could use them. This small offer of kindness has turned into something much bigger.
Building on Janelle’s donations and others, Christine helped create a food pantry run by the residents themselves. Volunteers from the building pick up the food, inspect it and run the pantry when it’s open.
“It gives the residents the opportunity to give back,” she says, noting how for many, the purpose they feel by working at the pantry can help support their recovery. “They tell me how much joy it brings to give food to their neighbors.”
In the year since it opened, the pantry has become a practical solution built by the residents themselves to tackle food insecurity while bringing a sense of purpose and community to residents.
It’s also just one of many stories that give Christine hope for people who are often overlooked or written off by society.
“Addiction is far more complex than many people realize. There are layers of trauma, grief, biology and more. What people see on the outside is never the whole story,” she says.
This is a truth Christine says she learns not just from residents at Kindred Place, but from her own life.
“My personal experience with complex trauma during my upbringing inspired me to pursue a career in the helping profession,” she says. “The challenges I faced growing up not only shaped who I am but also gave me a deep understanding of the struggles others go through.”
Hope gives back
By focusing on giving hope to Kindred Place residents, she recognizes how helping others has contributed to her own growth. “My work here at More Than A Roof is part of my journey, part of my own healing process,” she says
With stable housing as the foundation, More Than a Roof is able to provide a place where residents feel capable of making significant changes, setting them on the path to a better tomorrow.
“Every time I talk about my work, I get emotional,” she says. “You see so much trauma and grief, but at the end of the day, it’s the success of each and every one of them that keeps me going.”
With your gift, you can support Christine and MTR staff championing people’s mental and physical health.