The pair took different paths to get here. Rob, 49, a Toronto resident and warehouse logistics manager, had been silently battling anxiety and depression for years. He turned to substance use to cope, but eventually realized he needed professional help. Gord, now 61, grew up in Scarborough and began experiencing mental health challenges around age 12. By 14, alcohol had become his way of handling the confusion inside.

Though age and life experiences separated them, Rob and Gord both arrived at a pivotal moment: the realization they couldn’t fight this alone.

For Rob, that turning point came when he discovered Waypoint’s Georgianwood Program for Concurrent Disorders, a voluntary, 12-week inpatient program for people 18 and older experiencing mental health and substance use problems: “I found the program on my own,” he recalled. “I did some research and that was the one I felt best suited me.”

Gord, who retired just as the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic set in, found himself spiralling. His drinking worsened and, in March 2023, he was admitted to Waypoint, where a psychiatrist recommended Georgianwood.

Both men speak with deep appreciation for the care they received. Rob describes the Waypoint staff as “incredible” and calls his experience “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” A standout was Mary Mitchell, a Recreation Therapy Assistant who helped him take his first steps toward physical activity: “I met Mary and actually started exercising for the first time in my life,” he said.

For Gord, Georgianwood’s structure and supportive environment were key. Through cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness activities and exercise, he began to rebuild what had been buried under decades of pain: “They brought it all together and gave me my confidence and self-esteem back.”