Working Forward Together, we are making a difference. Check regularly for more inspirational stories.

The holiday season is upon us — the hustle, the bustle, the glitter, the glam. Holiday parties, gift giving, family and friends. For some, this time of year can be magical; for others, it can be a season of loneliness, grief, trauma, sadness, and anxiety.

This is where Forward House comes in.

Forward House provides a warm, safe space where the coffee’s always on, affordable meals are served, and a friendly game of crib, an art session, or a round of trivia is never far away. Most importantly, there’s always someone ready to listen — a staff member or volunteer offering support, guidance, and advocacy through life’s challenges.

A few weeks ago, a young woman appeared in the doorway of the Executive Director’s office and asked if she could have a moment. She shared that just months earlier, she had felt completely alone — until she discovered Forward House.

She recounted how each member of the team had made a difference:

Ali had talked her out of spiraling,

Brianna had helped her with budgeting,

Ange had guided her through coping strategies, and

Nicole had invited her to join in on an art therapy session

Then she said quietly, “Before Forward House, I was so alone. But coming here has changed my life — I’m no longer alone.”

Forward House is a vital part of our community, a place where everyone finds purpose, connection, and belonging. A warm and inviting refuge. A family. A safe space where, truly, everybody knows your name.

This holiday season, with the support of our community, Forward House will serve a complimentary homemade turkey dinner to our members with all the fixings — and all the feelings of family.

A modest Christmas tree glows in the corner of our living room on Hirst Avenue. The smell of shortbread and gingerbread cookies from our cooking class fills the home with nostalgia, while laughter and friendly banter echo from a lively crib game around the kitchen table.

It’s like coming home — a place where you are welcomed, known, and loved.

But like many families across British Columbia, Forward House is feeling the strain of rising costs. Increasing financial pressures are putting some of our most impactful programs at risk.

If you’re in a position to help this holiday season, we invite you to join our Forward Together Monthly Giving Program — a simple and meaningful way to ensure Forward House remains a home for those who need it most.

Ways You Can Help:

Join the Forward Together Monthly Giving Program 

Make a one-time donation

Explore Community Partnership Opportunities for local businesses

Leave a Legacy that lasts for generations

Your gift helps keep our doors open, our coffee brewing, and our community thriving — not just through the holidays, but all year long.

If you’d like to learn more or discuss ways to get involved, please contact Bonnie at 250-927-7045.

When we move Forward Together, we build more than a program — we build hope, belonging, and brighter tomorrows for everyone.

This holiday season, Forward House invites you to help light the path for neighbours seeking hope, stability, and connection. Connection is what keeps us steady. It’s what reminds us that we are not alone, that together we are capable of great things. I don’t know about you, but I feel better — mentally, physically, spiritually — when I am part of something that matters.

I felt that truth the very first time I sat down at the Forward House dining room table. I was playing crib with a client I had just met. He beat me, of course. He’s sharp, intuitive, and maybe a little lucky. But what stayed with me wasn’t losing the game — it was the twinkle in his eye. The comfort. The simple joy of being in a safe place where he belonged. That table has become, for me, the heart of Forward House. It’s where clients gather six days a week for warm lunches and dinners — meals prepared by volunteers, cooked with groceries bought by staff, funded by donations from people who care enough to help. People who walk a bill-stuffed envelope down to the Little Blue House on Hirst. People who show up for their neighbours.

As the holiday season approaches, I invite you, as a member of our Oceanside community, to step inside Forward House at 136 Hirst Ave East. You’ll feel it immediately — the respect, the relief, the small but powerful sense of belonging.

Every day, adults from Coombs to Nanoose, Qualicum Beach to downtown Parksville, find their way to our door. Some face anxiety. Others are living with depression, cognitive decline, trauma, addiction, or simply the heavy weight of loneliness. All of them are seeking connection.

During the day, Forward House offers expressive arts programs, meditation, cooking lessons, grounding techniques, outings to beaches and trails, swims, and nature excursions. Many come for help navigating complicated paperwork or emotional challenges. Many come just to sit at that table and feel human again.

In the evenings the rooms hum with hope as the house fills with the courage and honesty of recovery groups — men’s, women’s, and family sessions led by trained volunteers, many offering both professional expertise and lived experience.

They didn’t judge me — not once. I’m almost one year sober now. They helped me become the new me. — Forward House Client

“Supporting others keeps me accountable. Vulnerability is what connects us.” — Forward House Staff Member, 7 years sober One of our client advocates told me that working at Forward House changed her life. She said at first she feared she couldn’t help others while still managing her own anxiety and depression. But she discovered that supporting clients made her stronger, more grounded, more honest. Her story is a reminder that healing often moves in both directions. Many of our clients echo that feeling.

One woman, who first came to Forward House in 2023, shared how kindness — small, consistent kindness — transformed her life “When I walked in, I hated myself,” she told us. “I was angry all the time. But they didn’t judge me, even when I was ashamed. They helped me calm down. They kept me safe. And now… I’m almost one year without substances.”

These are the moments that define Forward House. Moments when someone’s story shifts. When connection bridges the impossible.

Why We Give

All of us who volunteer — on the Board, in the kitchen, teaching programs, running groups, washing dishes — do so because we know the impact. We see it every day. We know Forward House matters. Board member and past president Janet Walker offers this simple truth: “Does the work matter? Is there real need? With Forward House, the answer to both is absolutely yes.” As pressures rise during the holiday season — stress, financial strain, long nights, emotional weight — our clients feel it intensely. For many, Forward House is the one constant that keeps them steady.

A Holiday Invitation

This Christmas season, we ask you to consider your Forward House community — the clients seeking connection, the staff offering guidance, the volunteers giving their time, and the families hoping for a loved one’s stability.

Your generosity, big or small, keeps the lights on, the meals warm, and the table open.

Please consider donating to Forward House today. Drop off a gift at the Little Blue House at 136 Hirst Ave East — and help us keep connection alive for those who need it most.

Our hearts are full! 

Under a bright blue sky and 15-degree temperatures, roughly 50 members of the community came to show their support by walking, gabbing, munching hot dogs or bidding on a range of silent auction items.

Teunis Westbroek, Mayor of Qualicum Beach, was there for the 5 km stroll with clients. So was Mary Beil and Joel Grenz, City of Parksville councillors. They joined Michael Recalma, chief of the Qualicum First Nation in welcoming those who came out. All in good fun, all to raise awareness and much needed cash for Forward House which has been providing hope for Oceanside citizens with mental health barriers since 1982.

One client, (anonymous for obvious reasons), did the walk knowing that, at age 71, for him it would be a challenge. A few days after the walk, his eyes lift over his crib hand while he explains why he did it. A regular at the House since 1995, he says he did the walk “Mostly to prove it to myself that I could, but also just to support Forward House,” he says. 

Knowing fully that there would be a physical price to pay, there he was Sunday, a steady grip on his cane, walking the route from Save On Foods to Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. The last time he exerted himself that much was a Forward House client outing to Newcastle Island, and “it took me a good long time to get over that, too,” he says with a smile.

Other members of Oceanside’s businesses community joined in providing much needed seed support. Norm’s Plumbing was present. So were Fern and Cedar, along with many businesses who donated items for the silent auction. That is what a community does, what a family does. Its members give so that everyone feels part of the whole.

They talk the talk; they walk the walk.

Donations are still rolling in, but our initial tally shows that the inaugural Walk for Wellness is set to raise over $5,000!

THANK YOU!