At one point, Sven was ready to give up on life. Now, he's completed his Peer Support training with goals to become a certified recovery coach to help others take their first step toward hope.
Sven immigrated from Germany to Canada as a child, eventually settling in Vancouver. He quickly adapted, learned English, and enjoyed his childhood. He built a life working in industrial jobs like West Coast Logging before falling in with the wrong crowd. Sven’s life was overtaken by addiction, and things turned sideways fast. He found himself in a dark and hopeless place, frequently hospitalized, on suicide watch, and uncertain of where his life was going.
Everything changed during a stay at St. Paul’s Hospital, when a doctor asked him a simple but life-altering question: “Sven, do you want to live?” That moment became a turning point in his life. The question weighed heavily on his heart, and Sven realized how his actions were impacting those who cared about him and how much he had to fight for.
While in the recovery program at Union Gospel Mission (UGM), Sven learned about Mission Possible. The program allowed him to work up to 24 hours a week, so he went across the street to learn more about the Employment Readiness Program. For Sven, taking this step was not just about making money, but rather to help him stay busy and find structure in his life again. To his surprise, what he found with Mission Possible turned out to be much more than that - a supportive community that cares about people and gives them a renewed sense of purpose. “It's an uplifting business where they take people at their true value and try to empower them and help them get through obstacles in their lives,” he shares. He made the most out of his time in the program, taking advantage of all the resources Mission Possible had to offer, including coaching, the community pantry, and even the Healthy Homes Fund, where he was able to receive a brand new air conditioner!
Sven’s time at Mission Possible helped him rediscover empathy for himself and the community. For Sven, Mission Possible is not only a workplace but a source of healing. Now, he wants to carry that momentum forward for others. Working in the community reminded Sven how far he had come and that he would very much like to use his lived experience to help the folks around the Downtown Eastside. Sven often refers others in UGM’s recovery program to Mission Possible and shares that helping folks make that first step is rewarding. “Recovery can be a selfish thing, and it needs to be a selfish thing. It's still a ‘we’ program, because we need to lean on each other all the time. However, at the end of the day, when it comes down to making a choice, it's down to you, and that's how I took it, and it makes the difference,” he shares.
After his contract with the Clean Team and the South Granville BIA ended, Sven began his training in Peer Support work with Mission Possible’s new pilot program and applied to be an outreach worker at UGM. Eventually, he hopes to become a certified recovery coach!
Sven’s journey has been filled with ups and downs, but the changes in him are clear and impactful. At our recent MP Community Clean Up Day back in May, Sven courageously shared his story with our attendees, demonstrating how far he’s come since his days in hospital beds. Clean for nearly two years, Sven credits Mission Possible for helping him rebuild and transform his life. “They saw value in me before I could see it in myself,” he says.
Today, when asked if he wants to live, his answer is a clear and resounding: Absolutely.
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