Supporting outdoor expeditions for addiction recovery | SOLE and Union Gospel Mission.

At SOLE we truly believe in the power of the natural world to transform a life for the better. To see the evidence of this from a project close to home is truly moving. We couldn't be happier to offer our support to Union Gospel Mission's Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program in our local community of Vancouver, BC. The video below shows the crucial role that expeditions into the great outdoors play in the challenging yet rewarding process of addiction recovery.

As the SOLE design and marketing team we consider ourselves lucky to live and work in Vancouver. Our beautiful city is the gateway to some of the Pacific North West's most incredible scenery, with mountains, forests and ocean all on our doorstep. For many of us, it's access to the natural beauty of British Columbia that makes Vancouver so special. But for many in the city the natural beauty is clouded by the oppressive weight of drug and alcohol addiction. Our office is one block away from the infamous East Hastings street, where the realities of homelessness and addiction are all-too stark. When Union Gospel Mission approached us to help bring some comfort to the lives of men in their Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program, we jumped at the opportunity to make a positive difference to the issues that we're confronted by on a day-to-day basis.

The work of Union Gospel Mission.

Union Gospel Mission (UGM) has been serving people affected by homelessness, poverty and addiction in Metro Vancouver since 1940. The charity serves an average of 800 meals a day to people who need them most, through seven locations around the city. That comes to an amazing 300,000 meals a year, as well as offering more than 27,000 nights of safe shelter at their Emergency Shelter each year. On top of these essential services, UGM runs education services, homework clubs, and recovery programs that aid men and women in the city who are battling addiction to drugs and alcohol.

SOLE and UGM.

We're incredibly proud to have donated SOLE footbeds, our custom moldable orthopedic insoles, to help 120 men enrolled in UGM's Drug and Alcohol Recovery program in 2018 and 2019. The aim of the footbed donation is to improve the overall comfort of these men who face one of the most challenging undertakings of their lives as they complete the six month program. This includes doing the admirable work of addressing the sources of their addictions, and learning how to live recovery-centred lifestyles free from the shackles of addiction. Part of the process is to work on physical fitness to improve overall physical health, and SOLE footbeds help ensure that the participating men can do so with proper foot support to care for their bodies from the ground up. We're particularly proud to help these men hike in comfort as they undertake extensive wilderness expeditions that form part of their recovery program, as shown in the inspirational video featured above.