Tom Regehr of Georgetown

Self-help group founder overcame addiction and homelessness

A series of losses during his childhood led Tom Regehr to turn to alcohol at the age of 15.

To those around him, Tom was outgoing and gregarious. He performed well in school and after university he threw himself into his work. This allowed him to ignore both his inner pain and large consumption of alcohol and drugs, but it wasn’t until he reached his early thirties that his life lost direction.

Tom spent most of his thirties homeless and drunk. When he wasn’t on the streets, he was in a shelter, a doctor’s office, or jail. He slept in stairwells or on friends’ couches. The only way that Tom knew how to cope with his past was to erase it by drowning his memories in alcohol. Tom’s intestines began to deteriorate and he was passing nothing but blood and water for months. He also lost his self-esteem, deeming himself ‘unworthy’ of being human.

At 37, Tom turned a corner and went for help. He was extremely lonely and chose to trust the people helping him get well. At 38 Tom attended various detox centers, a 28-day in-house treatment, a three-week day program, and Alcoholics Anonymous. However, after five years of sobriety, Tom was still struggling. He couldn’t keep a job, a relationship, or a home without help. Tom still hadn’t received help for his emotional pain and he embarked on two years of intense trauma healing with a private therapist, which Tom says “is much harder than quitting drinking by many times”.

In February 2000, Tom started a self-help group named Come and Sit Together (CAST). The group received Trillium funding in 2003 and CAST Canada continues to expand with a mission in reducing mental health and addiction stigma. They have offered 40 training events for professionals throughout Ontario with over 500 participants, who range from shelter and housing workers, to lawyers, to police officers with future expansion into the corporate sector. Tom has also made over 40 visits to high schools across Halton and Peel region through CAST Canada’s high school visit program.

Tom is now united with his family, able to accept love and success, and is able to keep a job and a relationship.  He has also achieved many other successes in his recovery.  Tom is a member of the Board of ConnexOntario, co-presenter for Mental Health Works Ontario, past consumer representative for the Addiction Council of the Federation of Community and Mental Health and Addiction Programs, past advisor for Ontario Substance Abuse Bureau, and currently a working group member for the development of an Ontario Drug Strategy through the Provincial HEP (Health, Education and Enforcement in Partnership) Network.

“I have personally witnessed the impact Tom has had on individuals and agencies in a rural setting as well as on local and provincial levels in other settings,” said Suzanne Witt Foley, Tom’s nominator and friend.

Through his struggles, recovery, and ongoing efforts and dedication, Tom has a great outlook for the future and continues to change the lives of those suffering from addiction by providing positive and hopeful support.

 

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