Recovery looks different for everyone — and sometimes the first step is simply talking to someone who understands.
Our Peer Pros are tradespeople with lived experience who are here to walk alongside you as you explore what’s next in your journey toward recovery and wellness. This dedicated group is growing every day, as more workers join the movement to support their brothers and sisters in the trades.
Ready to start the conversation? Reach out below — you don’t have to take the next step alone.
Support is here.
Dennis B
Dennis B is a Red Seal glazier with 7 years in the trade. Before that, he spent a decade in Alberta’s oil fields and 6 years in Ontario’s manufacturing industry. Across those years, Dennis battled mental health, and addiction challenges he didn’t fully recognize at the time. When he finally reached out for help, the support he received gave him the chance to grow into a healthier, happier man. Today, Dennis is proud to be part of the FORGE team and is ready to put his experience to work helping others.
Paul T
Paul T has worked in carpentry and road building for over 30 years, serving as a foreman in both trades. For two decades, he struggled with addiction until his union helped him get into treatment. Since then, Paul has been working his recovery every day to build a healthier life and support others on their own recovery journey. Being part of the FORGE is one of the ways he stays grounded and clean.
Travis S
Travis S has worked in construction for 34 years as a carpenter and foreman. He has faced addiction and mental health challenges since his early teens, carrying those struggles into adulthood. In January 2015, with the support of out-patient treatment and community-based recovery resources, Travis began his journey of lasting recovery. Today, he enjoys a healthier life by giving back and helping others who are walking their own path toward recovery. As a Peer Pro with the FORGE, Travis uses his experience in the trades and in recovery to support workers and strengthen the community.
Chris C
I’m a 41-year-old father to an incredible 17-year-old daughter, working as a commercial glass glazier with a background as a telecommunications construction lineman. For the past two and a half years, I’ve been in recovery, dedicating myself to personal growth and helping other men discover stronger, healthier versions of themselves. My passion lies in serving others, giving back the support I’ve received, and witnessing people show up for themselves to rediscover their potential. I believe in the power of sharing what I’ve learned, as I can only keep what I have by giving it away.
Liam O
A man who lives a productive life with chronic pain as a side gig. Before Liam’s disabling injury, he was active in the trades and the drug culture that often came with it. As a young man, he was forged by long days cleaning windows on Vancouver’s glass towers. In that environment, peers influenced him, and he eventually became immersed in Vancouver’s underworld. Fortunately, he made it through to the other side, and that life is now permanently behind him.
Chronic pain has since shifted Liam’s perspective. Now he focuses on more positive things: running a business, writing, and helping others. Despite being disabled, Liam is living proof that one can still work and live fully, even when it once seemed dark and impossible.
Shawn U
Hello, my name is Shawn and before joining The Forge I was an Ironworking Tradesman, lost, lonely, and living behind the bars of my own mind. Too many years, too many problems, and not knowing who to talk to or which way to turn. For years I was alone, disconnected, in acute pain. But really, I myself was the largest barrier. Tragedy, addiction, chronic pain, injuries, and accidents. Enough was enough and we all know when that is. Now, multiple years, non-linear, but very stable healing and connected is where I am today. My recovery is my own as yours will be. And only you know exactly what you need. And when you see how large the community and safety net of supports and resources there are you will be amazed.
A little motivation, I may help you find.
Do not let your thoughts keep you in a bind.
Straight from my heart, no judgement. All compassion and empathy.
Encouragement for growth a safe ear to hear.
Just let your thoughts steer, don’t fear.
Dan
I’ve been around addiction in one way or another my entire life. I watched my foster father go from having a thriving company with a great life, to losing everything from alcoholism and the inability to ask for help or even talk about it. Generation after generation, so many people wouldn’t talk about their struggles especially if it had anything to do with mental health and addiction. I know how it feels to be in that train of thought.
I went back to school as an adult finally properly medicated for A.D.D. and it was a night and day difference. When I was a kid, school was so hard that it felt like no matter what I did it was never enough. I was constantly in trouble and eventually suspended I couldn’t go back.
I’m 38, I’ve worked in different trades over the years in everything from framing, concrete, roofing, cedar decks, drywall, and I am an apprentice welder. My life has been chaotic and I’ve lived in more towns than I can remember. Growing up school was really hard and I was constantly in trouble and always on my own. I was finally diagnosed with A.D.D, PTSD, and Depression in 2014. When I started taking proper medication my life was finally manageable. I took my first year of welding and couldn’t believe the difference proper medication made. In 2017 deep rooted trauma was triggered launching me heavily into addiction. I lost everything and felt hopeless. I tried relentlessly to get sober on my own. It didn’t work. In 2023 I finally got sober the right way. I went to a 2 year treatment program and worked on myself extensively. Everything from counseling, programming, step work, going to meetings and building healthy connections has brought me here. When I heard about the Forge, I just knew, that this was something important and I had to get involved. Not everyone gets the luxury of putting their life on hold to get the help they need to heal. It is my intention to take everything that I’ve learned on my healing journey and share it with you.
Billy
Billy has spent most of his life on the island. He worked as a drywall contractor for 18 years, after spending 9 years in cold logistics. In 2021, he attended Cedars for 50 days, and he has been proud to maintain his sobriety for the past 2.5 years.More recently, Billy has been working at a correctional facility as a resident care aide, while also teaching men’s yoga classes in the evenings. On weekends, he combines his love of music and community by playing house music and organizing Recovery House parties. He is also the survivor of domestic abuse and continues to live with PTSD from that experience, which has deeply shaped his journey and resilience.
Belinda
-I will curiously walk alongside you as you pivot to a new path –
I have worked in various construction fields since I was a teenager, and over the years, have faced many different types of stigma. Mental health challenges can be invisible, but facing stigma doesn’t have to be.