“One day soon, we will walk from the rain into a garden that never washes away.”

Our ultimate dream for the Adam Sun Hope Sanctuary Society is to secure a permanent, rural property and residence—a living sanctuary where recovery, creativity, and community thrive on the same land. This estate will carry my son Chandis Adam Strehlen’s name and serve as a self-sustaining haven for isolated men, boys, and their families.

At the heart of the property will be a permanent botanical memorial garden, where the names of those lost to the toxic drug crisis are carved deeply into stone among trees, wildflowers, and quiet paths. Designed with the same artist’s hand that now traces names in soapstone along the waterfront, it will be a place where families can sit, remember, and know their loved one’s light is never forgotten. Here, society will finally stop letting these lives disappear.

A Self-Sustaining Ecosystem of Healing, Trade & Expression

To breathe life into this land and provide immediate, practical paths out of isolation, the estate will house dedicated spaces for physical labor, natural stewardship, and deep creative expression:

🛠️ The Recycle & Mechanical Shop

We are building a dedicated workshop and hangout space on the property where Canadian men and boys can gather, connect, and find true brotherhood. Here, they are employed to collect, dismantle, and sort donated bicycle and motorcycle parts. In this shop, they don't just learn a valuable mechanical trade; they learn teamwork, find structure, and experience the therapeutic power of rebuilding something broken. The components they masterfully prepare here directly fuel our global Ride It Forward mobility initiative in Benin.

🍃 The Sunny Son Foraging & Artisan Distillery

Bridging the wild beauty of the coast with the recovery of the soul, this program employs our men as Stewardship Foragers. They are trained to respectfully and selectively harvest regional botanicals—cedar, Douglas fir, wild rose, and seaweed. Back at the estate's artisan distillery, these raw ingredients are transformed into high-quality hydrosols, soaps, and oils for our Sunny Son skincare line.

🎨 The Creativity Zone: Art Space & Music Studio

True healing requires an outlet for the spirit. The estate will feature a vibrant, multi-disciplinary Creativity Zone designed to unlock expression and process complex trauma.

• The Art Space: A dedicated studio where men and boys can work with their hands—exploring calligraphy, carving, painting, and raw materials, transforming internal pain into lasting visual beauty.

• The Music Studio: A soundproofed sanctuary and recording space where youth can find their rhythm, write their stories, jam together, and let their voices be heard without judgment.

Building a Sustainable Future

Every layer of this estate is designed to feed into the next. The mechanical shop, the artisan distillery, and the creative studios make the property completely self-sustaining, ensuring that the daily, proud labor and creative output of these men directly maintain the sanctuary, fund the growth of the land, and keep our programs entirely independent.

As we work toward acquiring this permanent rural residence, we are starting strong on our foundational paths:

• The Foraging, Mechanical, & Creative Hubs: Engaging our men right now in the restorative work of the forest, the sea, the mechanical shop, and the canvas.

• Living Tributes: Helping other grieving families design and create their own lasting botanical and artistic memorials.

• The Land Campaign: Directing proceeds from every skincare product hand-crafted and every part recycled straight toward our land acquisition fund.

Every gear turned, every botanical distilled, every chord struck, and every line drawn brings us one step closer to opening the gates of a permanent home where no one has to suffer in isolation.

“The sun sets on many, but their light remains in the lines we draw—and the sanctuary we build—forever.”