On a quiet February afternoon at Hidden Treasures Thrift Store in Chilliwack, BC, two men maneuver a dresser through the aisles. One of them is Mike (not his real name). He wears a black T-shirt and close-cropped, almost white hair. The pair moves the heavy-looking furniture with ease.
Mike has a background as a labourer, and likes to work. But the chance to work is only part of why he enjoys Hidden Treasures. He feels accepted here.
“Working at Hidden Treasures helped me realize there are people out there that care,” he says. “That I am somebody.”
Meeting a Mentor
Years ago, when Mike began attending M2W2 coffee nights, it was his first interaction with people from the community in a long while. He had been incarcerated for over a decade.
“It felt good to connect with people,” he says. “I remember a lot of laughter.”
After transferring to minimum-security prison (or “Camp Cupcake,” as he calls it), Mike met Elder Pascal Adam, who walked with him “through the good times and the bad” and encouraged him to meet regularly with a mentor.
Pascal introduced Mike to Eric, and the two have been friends since. Before COVID, Eric would meet Mike for coffee, and together they’d attend Northview Community Church, where Mike is now a member. Recently they’ve stayed in contact through phone calls.
“We joke around and talk. We have some stuff in common, like we’re both physical labourers,” Mike says. The two men also share a faith and would read scripture and pray together. Eric baptized Mike in 2016, with Elder Pascal in attendance.
Helping at Hidden Treasures
Mike volunteered at Hidden Treasures in Abbotsford while on Escorted Temporary Absences (ETAs) from late 2017 until 2020, when passes were suspended due to COVID.
“It got me back into working,” he says of the ETAs, “working with people.”
In January 2023, living at Chilliwack Community Correctional Centre (CCCC), Mike began a work release term at the Chilliwack store. He says his experience at Chilliwack has mirrored the one in Abbotsford: “Everybody was very welcoming. Everybody knows I’m from prison and nobody cares. It’s been really positive.”
For the first few weeks, Mike was escorted to the store, but now he is walking on his own. “For the first time in over 30 years, I walked down the street by myself. I said, ‘Wow.’”
He views his work release as a regular job, saying his time at Hidden Treasures has shown him he can function in the community. “It’s given me a sense that I am somebody. I’m not just a criminal. It’s a part of my past, but I’ve been accepted.”
‘Who Can You Be?’
Mike’s experiences at Hidden Treasures have helped him feel a sense of purpose, something he’d like share with others.
“At Hidden Treasures they ask, ‘Who are you now?’ and ‘Who can you be?’ They’ve shown me my potential.”
When he completes his work release term, he hopes to do another. And after that, day parole. He says he’d like to volunteer with M2W2 and at Hidden Treasures in the future — to help with furniture and boxes, but also to help other people find acceptance and make changes in their lives.
He knows he can share his experience. “I’d tell them, ‘There was a time when I had the max attitude. I was ready to throw down. I was doing dope and I didn’t care, but I changed. You can change too.’”
It as been a privilege to volunteer with Mike. Wishing him well and hope to
See him again at Hidden Treasure.