Armed with a can of paint and a rolling brush, Ricky Hart had the necessary tools to help improve the lives of children while turning his own life around.
The 34-year-old Newfoundland native was one of 25 clients from the Salvation Army’s Addictions and Residential Centre in Edmonton to travel to Central Alberta on Monday for a three-day mission trip.
Upon their arrival, the group immediately started working on various projects to prepare the Salvation Army Pine Lake Camp for the busy summer season that will get underway early in July.
The camp, which is located on the west side of Pine Lake, has provided underprivileged children from across the province with the opportunity to experience the joys of summer camp for the past 50 years.
Hart never went to summer camp as a child but he was finally exposed to something similar on Tuesday night as it stopped raining long enough for the men to go fishing and roast hot dogs over a fire.
Such an escape from the city can help guide kids down a different path than the one he took in life, Hart said.
“I’m fighting addictions and the last four years of my life have been damaged, you could say,” he said on Wednesday morning while painting the basement floor of one of the new bunk lodges at the camp.
“I’m starting my life over and I have to make new changes. There’s something about helping kids that makes us feel better about ourselves, that’s why I’m here.”
This is the first time members from the centre have worked at the Pine Lake Camp and those who made the trip shared Hart’s desire to help others while also giving a boost to their self-esteem.
“It’s to bless other people, but also it’s for the guys in the program,” explained Joe McCharles, who went through the five-month rehabilitation program in 2005 and now works as the maintenance manager at the centre. “As we start doing things like this, guys start feeling good about who they are.”
Originally, the clients and the eight accompanying staff members arrived with the intention of installing a new playground by the end of Wednesday.
The Salvation Army raised $70,000 for the new equipment to replace the old structure that was demolished to make room for the four new bunk lodges that opened last August.
The rain delayed the playground project but the soggy weather didn’t put a damper on the men’s eagerness to lend a hand.
Instead, they busied themselves with other projects around the camp such as painting, vehicle maintenance, landscaping and building repairs.
“They’re coming in with a set of skills and they’re able to give back,” said Capt. Pam Goodyear, spokesperson with the Salvation Army.
She noted that most of the men are experienced carpenters, electricians and mechanics.
“Our programs are about more than just providing shelter and the addictions treatment,” Goodyear continued.
“It’s about giving people hope again and it’s about restoring their dignity. For a lot of the men, who are not able to work anymore because they have to deal with the addiction issues or they’ve lost jobs because of it, to be able to come and put the skills they have to use to help somebody, that helps them feel good about themselves as well.”
Capt. Mark Stanley, executive director for the Addictions and Residential Centre, said the work has been so therapeutic for the men that he’s considering making the trip an annual affair.
This is something Hart thinks should be done so all clients are given the opportunity to make peace with themselves.
“My favourite thing about this (experience) is the feeling I have inside, just joy and a sense of accomplishment,” he said.
ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com