Across the ocean, the issues (and answers) are the same

A Dutch client shares his story with the group.

Even across the ocean, the issues facing homeless men and women with mental illness remain urgent and complicated.

A group of clients and staff from the Netherlands visited Clinton Residence and Safe Haven. This unique gathering allowed both groups to exchange knowledge, programmatic information, success stories, hospitality, recovery, treatment and friendship.

The room was filled with upbeat energy and lots of laughs as together they celebrated Clinton Resident client Benito’s 59th Birthday. The Dutch clients brought the gift of a special cheese knife from the Netherlands to share with Benito something unique and characteristic of their culture. With a large smile Benito claimed, “Living here gets better all the time.”

Bentoumi, a client accompanying the Netherlands group, is originally from Morocco  and here he serenades  the group with a song in Arabic. He said, “With big changes in your life you always need some people who help you further and give you the strength and motivation to survive during your recovery and reintegration process. With the help of others, you can change, move forward in your life.”