By Mabel Marin
For nearly five years, Rodney has been a familiar face at Mirrors Supportive Housing, a Beacon Community Services program where staff support young people living at Mirrors while helping create a safe and stable environment.
As a Team Lead and Support Worker, Rodney helps create a supportive environment where young people have a safe place to live while accessing practical support, meals, wellness checks, and connections to community services. It is demanding work, but for Rodney, it is deeply personal.
After overcoming his own struggles with addiction and achieving 18 years in recovery, he now uses those experiences to support others navigating some of the most challenging periods of their lives.
Throughout the interview, Rodney returned again and again to one theme: helping people feel safe.
Mabel Marin: What attracted you to this role?
Rodney: I didn’t want to do work in recovery or addiction. I always wanted to operate big machinery and work in the mines. Then I hurt my knee and couldn’t do that work the same way. A friend told me I should apply. I didn’t think I’d be good at it. But he said I had experience in addiction and recovery, and that I should try. I stay because this fills my cup. Everything I’ve learned getting clean and through recovery, I can apply. I’m giving back.
A Day at Mirrors
Today, Rodney’s role is far different from the career he once imagined, but it is one he has come to value deeply.
Rodney describes his role as doing a little bit of everything. Alongside the rest of the team, he helps monitor the building, complete wellness checks, support participants with daily living, assist with laundry and room cleaning, serve meals, and respond to conflicts before they escalate. Staff are present throughout the day, maintaining a safe environment and providing support in common areas before small issues become larger conflicts.
Rodney describes the work as being present rather than directing change.
“We’re not here to fix them or change them or anything. We’re here to offer support and be good role models.”
Rather than telling participants how they should act, Rodney says staff focus on modelling respectful behaviour themselves.
“I role model how I want them to treat me.”
Whether participants need immediate support or simply someone to talk to, staff are there to provide stability and consistency.
Mabel: People often think supportive housing is just about providing a place to live. What do you wish more people understood about the work that happens behind the scenes?
Rodney: A lot of these people have gone through a lot of trauma, and their nervous system is just shot. Until your nervous system calms down, you’re not able to fix things in your life or change things. We get them off the street; we feed them. They have a nice, safe room, their own room with a bathroom. Once they feel safe long enough, then they’re able to take support. Sometimes it can be a month. Sometimes it can be years. Sometimes never. But once they feel safe, they’re able to think about changing their life, whatever they want it to be.
For Rodney, supportive housing is about more than providing shelter. It is about creating the conditions where someone can begin thinking differently about their future. “Once they feel safe long enough, then they’re able to take that support,” he says.
Whether that means exploring treatment, attending recovery meetings, or accessing other supports, Rodney believes people are better able to accept help once they have experienced stability and safety.
Many participants arrive carrying trauma, uncertainty, and experiences that have shaped how they view the world and the people around them. Before meaningful change can happen, they need a place where they feel secure.
That is why so much of the work at Mirrors happens in small, everyday moments: checking in, offering support, sharing a meal, listening without judgment, and creating predictable routines.
Those actions may seem simple, but over time they help create an environment where people can begin to settle, build trust, and explore what comes next.
The Power of Consistency
Mabel: How important is consistency in your type of work?
Rodney: Consistency in anything is really important. Always be there. Do what you say. You just have to give them time to process, and you have to be consistent and kind.
Rodney describes consistency as showing up, even when someone is angry, frustrated, or unwilling to accept help in the moment.
Sometimes it means checking in repeatedly, offering support while respecting a person’s need for time and space. Rather than forcing immediate solutions, staff focus on being patient and dependable.
For young people whose lives have often been marked by instability, that reliability can make a meaningful difference.
Rodney believes that kindness and consistency go hand in hand. Participants may not always be ready to accept help immediately, and some situations require patience rather than urgency. Instead of forcing change, staff continue showing up, checking in, and offering support. Over time, that consistency helps build trust.
Over the years, Rodney has witnessed the impact firsthand. “I’ve seen them change,” he says. “A bunch of them that were very angry are now pretty easy-going.”
He recalls participants who arrived carrying significant anger and fear, only to gradually become calmer and more settled as they felt safer in their environment. “Once they feel safe,” he says, “we’re able to help them a little bit more.”
The work also resonates with Rodney because he understands many of the challenges participants face.
Now 18 years in recovery, he draws on lessons learned through his own experiences and through recovery programs. Those experiences have taught him that change takes time and that progress rarely follows a straight line.
His own family remains part of his life today. His mother encouraged him to get clean and attend 12-step meetings. While some family members continue to struggle with addiction, Rodney says he is careful about maintaining boundaries that support his own recovery.
Mabel: Without naming anyone, can you share a story that reminds you why this work matters?
Rodney: I’ve seen people become safer. That keeps me here. There’s lots of stories like that that keep me coming back.
Why Youth-Focused Housing Matters
Rodney believes there is still more work to do when it comes to supporting young people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. In particular, he sees value in housing designed specifically for youth.
Many young people are still early in their experiences with homelessness, substance use, or mental health challenges. Having a safe environment where they can access support while living among peers can make a significant difference.
Mabel: What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability today?
Rodney: I think we need more housing like this.
As our conversation came to a close, Rodney reflected on the message he shares with young people who are beginning a new chapter in their lives, particularly those pursuing recovery.
His words are honest. Recovery is not easy. Change can feel uncomfortable. Growth can be unpredictable. But he also speaks from experience.
Mabel: What would you say to a young person moving on to their next chapter?
Rodney: It’s worth it. It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get weird. Then it’s going to get better. If you stick it out and stay with it, it gets better.
Nearly five years after joining Mirrors, Rodney continues to show up each day with the same goal: helping people feel safe. He has seen firsthand how stability, patience, and support can help people move forward when they are ready.
And that, he says, is what keeps him coming back.
“I’ve seen people become safer. That keeps me here.”