Gerry Oake is running a program called Our House and wants to open one on a farm near Esterhazy. He went through recovery in Ottawa. This recovery got him on track, clean, involved, and got him helping. Gerry has been clean for 35 years.
He has done (and is still doing) a lot of fundraising. He did a Roll-A-Thon in Esterhazy to fundraise, which entailed rollerblading or biking from Yorkton to Esterhazy. He did this for about ten years. He also used to fundraise door to door, but that takes a while. So far, they have raised $100,000 from door to door, the Roll-A-Thon, and donations from companies and people. Mosaic donated $5000 last year and $5000 this year. They need $400,000 because it would buy the land and the house and would pay for operational costs. He has a painting business, and he asks for donations. He is also considering fundraising through Go Fund Me. If he raises $100,000 a year, that would be great! Please consider donating to Our House!
The program has six recovery values and is more open about life and not secretive. Our House takes a religious approach because of Gerry’s own experiences, but they are accepting of everyone. They are currently doing group meetings on Zoom because of COVID-19. Zoom is nice because it is accessible far and wide. They do Zoom group meetings a few times a week. You must commit to being clean for the program to work. The day-to-day life includes cleanup/chores in the morning for an hour or so, then a group meeting (which could go for hours), and then they get everyone involved in cooking. Someone stays at the house 24/7 to make sure everyone is okay. The program involves addicts helping addicts, which Gerry said is usually the best because they all know the experience. He emphasized that he is not devaluing those who are educated in counselling and/or social work. Gerry knows that this program is successful because of his own experience. The program is different from other programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), because a lot of traumatic topics are talked about openly, which gives other people courage to talk about their experiences. Anybody is welcome if they are committed.
There was an Our House location in Surrey, British Columbia but it closed. It closed because the people staying there were not committed to being clean, there are a lot of recovery houses in Surrey, and they did not have enough people staying there. There is a location starting up in Ontario (close to Quebec).
Gerry wants to own his Our House location, not rent it, and wants to open it as soon as possible, and there are people that are ready to work when they open. They are planning a round up at Camp O’Neill (if COVID-19 is okay in September). This involves group meetings at a campfire and songs. They have a theme song, and it is Our House by Neill Young. Norm Sharkey is the founder of the program, and he participates in online group meetings. On June 7th, he will be 50 years clean.
Gerry believes that Our House will be lifesaving with the opioid crisis. It could prevent overdose if they are not alone, and they have Narcan with them. Narcan is a lifesaving drug that is used to reverse overdoses. There is a very high risk that street drugs are laced with Fentanyl, which is lethal. It is important to talk about the opioid crisis because it is tragically killing people. Our House supports people even if they relapse; they do not shut them out.
Gerry believes that there is a local drug issue, and he has done talks in schools in Esterhazy and Churchbridge and wants to again in September. Gerry emphasizes that drugs are not miracle cures and only make things worse in the long run. Any kind of addicts are welcome to contact and/or join Our House. Gerry said, “Not everybody does drugs to deal with their pain.”
If you want more information, you can contact Gerry by phone at (306)-745-7241 and by email at gerry.o@sasktel.net. Please consider donating to Our House!
By: Mallory Johnson