By Alexa Gilker

AFTER two years of listening to the stories of homeless individuals showing up for his church’s weekly hot lunch, Art Van Holst, pastor of Radiant Life Community Church in Campbell River, began to notice a pattern.

“Many of these people are in this situation because they are dealing with addictions,” said Van Holst. He regularly hears stories of individuals who have been in and out of rehabilitation centres several times, but always ended up using again once they were back on the street.

“We need more than bandaids,” Van Holst said, referring to the weekly lunch as a method that deals with the symptoms of homelessness, rather than addressing the issue at its core. Though Van Holst agrees that both are necessary, he believes God is impressing bigger dreams on his heart.

Two years ago, he put forward the idea of an addiction rehabilitation program to his two dozen congregation members, and was impressed with the amount of support and interest he received.

And so, Healing Reign Ranch was born. The name comes from the belief that “healing comes from God and through God reigning in our lives,” said Van Holst. The fuller vision for the ranch has since been fleshed out, as a long-term addiction rehabilitation facility with Christ-centred values.

 “Most rehabilitation programs are short-term,” said Van Holst, “only about two to three months.” From what he’s seen, those few months aren’t enough to keep individuals substance free. Instead, Healing Reign will require participants to commit to a minimum of one year, with the hope of keeping individuals in the program for up to three years.

The program will be geared towards individuals living on the street, who have been dealing with addictive behaviour for many years – starting with about six to eight individuals, and building from there. Participants can be from “anywhere on the island,” said Van Holst, pointing out that “Duncan hosts the only other rehabilitation program on the island being run with Christian values.”

The ranch itself will be on a farm somewhere on the north island, and will act as the main headquarters for the program. The facility, Van Holst said, is intended to be a working farm, with the labour provided primarily by the program’s participants.

“A lot of these guys have been in addiction since their early 20s,” Van Holst notes. “If we get them off their addictions, but they go back to the street without any job skills, they fall back into their addictive behavior.” Along with farming experience, program participants will gain career training, as well as have the opportunity to upgrade their education through a partnership with North Island Employment Centre.

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Campbell River citizens have responded positively. “A lot of people have stepped forward to say they would like to be a part of this,” said Van Holst. “There are a number of doctors, dentists in the community who have offered to help us out.”

Right now, the building process is still in its beginning stages. The ranch is currently applying for status as a charitable organization, and fundraising organized by congregation volunteers will begin once this goal has been reached.

The ranch will eventually require volunteer support staff in order to provide assistance in all the areas addiction cripples its victims.

“Our mission is to promote and assist in the transformation of lives lost to addictive behavior – through faith in God, who brings healing,” said Van Holst. “The core issue is that [these people] need God.” He emphasizes that the program will incorporate biblical training and Christian counselling into the rehabilitation it offers.

Van Holst will be involved in offering spiritual advice. He cites Romans 12:2 as a biblical take-off point for recovery from addictive behavior. It is his goal that Healing Reign be a safe, Christ-focused place for transformation to occur.

Contact Art Van Holst at radiant9@telus.net.

February 2010