A man who says God's redemption helped him overcome his addiction is thrilled to be able to share that hope to more people through a new detoxing project.

Peter McMullen, director at Lighthouse Mission on Main Street, says when people come into their Main Street centre to warm up and have a hot meal, sometimes they ask for more help.

"People seeking help in Winnipeg have run into the bottleneck of not being able to detox, which is usually required to go into a treatment program. And we have the same issue with our clients," McMullen says. "They will come in and ask for help and we will get them on a waiting list, but (when) five weeks come up they have a bed available in a local detox, they've changed their mind."

Now, the Lighthouse director role is letting him spearhead a project close to his heart. The mission is in the process of renovating their buildings to open up detoxing beds, one floor for women and one floor for men. The capital campaign underway needs to raise $2.5 million to complete the project.

"It is one of the most rewarding things I could ever ask for," McMullen says. "That is the most exciting part for me, personally. It is part of my testimony. I battled addiction in my life and the one thing we noticed with almost all of our community is they all have been touched by addiction."

He says he could not beat his addiction until he turned to God. He is hopeful this new detoxing centre will help others the way he was helped.

Lighthouse Mission has a close relationship with Adult and Teen Challenge. McMullen is a graduate and says they are looking at partnering with ATC. he says "ATC will play a key role in the success for those seeking freedom."

main floor667 Main Street renovations before the recent warming centre opening. (Peter McMullen/Supplied)

They are combining their 667 and 669 buildings to create the two large spaces. So far they have finished their first stage, installing a new water line for a fire suppression system.

"The next phases are going to be joining the two main floors to increase our service area, and then all of the required upgrades, whether it be the new staircases, whether it be the new insolation, the windows; there's a lot of different things."

McMullen is hoping to see the beds open within a year.

 

Foodbank needs

As they work in this space, the need for more food hampers has greatly increased. McMullen says they have seen the need grow over the past two years and have been able to double the weight of food given out. But now, their selves are emptying. He says financial donations are a large help and ask for things such as beans, oatmeal, canned meat and fish that can be dropped off at the back door.