Preston Matechuck’s life was slipping through his fingers just a few years ago.
Struggling with addiction, grief, and homelessness, he spent a lot of his days walking the streets of Saskatoon, couch-surfing wherever he could.
He said his descent into active addiction started with the loss of his mother in 2016. By 2021, he’d often be awake for as many as six days at a time before crashing in exhaustion.
“I was trying to get better on my own,” Preston recalls. “But I was still craving, still struggling. I didn’t know how to ask for help.”
That help eventually came through the Saskatoon Tribal Council’s Emergency Wellness Centre (EWC), though Preston didn’t take it right away.
He first visited the EWC in its temporary downtown location, just stopping in for a coffee. A longtime family friend working at the facility offered him a bed. Although Preston wasn’t ready at that time, but he never forgot the offer.
A few months later, in the winter of 2022, Preston returned to the EWC’s current location in Fairhaven.
The Saskatoon Tribal Council’s Emergency Wellness Centre at 415 Fairmont Dr.
This time, he decided to wait until a bed opened up. “I didn’t know how the shelter worked, didn’t know the rules,” he said, adding that his family friend on staff helped him through the intake process.
The journey wasn’t easy. Preston stayed at the EWC for nearly two years. In that time, he had a relapse into addiction, and struggled to find a sense of purpose. He said EWC staff stood by him through the ups and downs.
“They had the patience to keep me there. They didn’t give up on me,” he says. “Even when I didn’t treat everyone right, they gave me the space to get back on my feet.”
Preston eventually found the motivation to turn his life around through spirituality, and reconnection with his family.
He said he started reading a Bible he found at the EWC, recalling that his sister, who passed away in 2023, was a regular Bible reader.
“I looked towards the Great Father, you know — the Creator,” he explained.
But Preston’s biggest motivation came from the desire to take care of his young son.
“My son is the most important thing… I want to be the best father he could ever see,” he said.
Determined to change, Preston asked to move into the EWC’s family pod so he could care for his son directly. The staff supported him immediately.
“That one night turned into many,” he says. “The whole plan was to get better, for him.”
With help from STC’s staff, Preston secured permanent housing in April 2024. Today, he lives full-time with his son and cares for his stepdaughter on weekends. He’s sober, and focused on his next chapter finding work, raising his children, and staying well.
“I never thought I’d have everything I ever wanted, my own place, my kids,” he said with pride. “I will not give that up. My son needs me more than ever.”
To others still on the streets or struggling with addiction, Preston offers this advice:
“Surrender. Surrender the habit, surrender the way you think. If you don’t, you’ll just keep giving in, one day you won’t be around anymore.”
