At 63 years old, Mitch Plourd never expected to be starting over.

Not after years of addiction, not after homelessness, and definitely not after the trailer he was living in on a relative’s property outside of Colville burned down in November 2024.

“I told my son, ‘I won’t survive out here. I gotta do something,’” Mitch said, remembering the days after the fire destroyed the fifth-wheel trailer.

For years, life had unraveled one painful chapter at a time. Mitch grew up in Spokane but spent much of his life in rural northeast Washington, first moving to the area in his teens. “I started hanging out in Onion Creek, and I just loved the area up there,” he said. “I just loved the people and being out in the country. I didn’t like the city.”

But life took him away from the area to California, where he served four years in jail after injuring a man who attacked his pregnant girlfriend. After he was released from prison, he moved back to northeast Washington, married his (now ex-)wife, and settled in Northport.

Mitch was married for 20 years before the relationship ended unexpectedly. After that, he says, everything changed.

“I guess after that, life just went downhill,” he said. “I started using drugs. I started drinking. I mean, we were together for 22 years, you know?”

For nearly a decade, methamphetamine and alcohol consumed his life.

“Life just went downhill,” he repeated. “I was probably 10 years off and on the drugs.”

Eventually, he ended up living alone in the fifth-wheel trailer, completely off the grid. He hauled water, relied on solar power, and survived as best he could. Even before the fire, the trailer was deteriorating.

“That thing, even though it burned down, was falling down around my ears anyway,” he said.

After the fire, staff from Rural Resources were able to place Mitch in the Colville men’s homeless shelter, but he quickly developed pneumonia and ended up in the hospital. While he was there, his doctor imparted some tough love onto him — he was going to eventually die if he didn’t make significant lifestyle changes.

After his health scare, Mitch did indeed change his ways. He stopped using and worked with Rural Resources to secure a unit in Catholic Charities’ Dominican Sisters Haven affordable housing complex in Colville, then still under construction. While waiting for his apartment to be completed, Rural Resources staff arranged for him to stay in a hotel.

“The way they explained it to me is, I have a place — it just wasn’t finished yet,” he said.

Even while waiting for permanent housing, he worried constantly that he would lose everything again.

“I couldn’t quit worrying that they were gonna kick me out and I’d be out on the street again,” he said. But that worry was paired with excitement for his upcoming residency at Dominican Sisters Haven, so much so that he snuck onto the construction site to preview his unit, as he knew his apartment number.

“I did get into trouble for that,” he said, laughing. “I couldn’t help myself – I was so excited to get to live here.”

As soon as Dominican Sisters Haven opened in September 2025, Mitch was in the first cohort of tenants to move in. He now lives in a 1-bedroom apartment with views of the Colville valley. “I like that we’re at the edge of town,” he said. “When I had better mobility I used to go down to the river and fish.” He also finds enjoyment in watching the resident ospreys, which have nests built nearby.

“I just love it here,” he said, and spoke warmly about the staff who helped him adjust to housing after homelessness. (Dominican Sisters Haven is owned by Catholic Charities and managed by Rural Resources.) He recalls maintenance workers quickly installing grab bars in his bathroom when his mobility declined, and staff helping him navigate paperwork he struggled to complete on his own.

“Everybody’s just been a big help and real supportive,” he said. “I can’t sing their praises enough.”

Alongside recovery, Mitch now deals with health issues that were previously masked by his drug and alcohol use. He continues to address these challenges with his doctor, including an upcoming surgery that will hopefully improve his mobility.

He appreciates how the other residents at Dominican Sisters Haven have helped him feel supported and part of a community. Jars sit on his counter from canned peaches that his upstairs neighbors had made for him, and he mentioned another neighbor had brought over biscuits and gravy for breakfast that morning. “And after my surgery, the ladies across the way are going to check in on me.”

He also appreciates how the complex is multi-generational. “It’s not just a bunch of old people here. There are families here, and the kids come out and ride their bikes and play.”

Just inside Mitch’s front door sit pairs of child-sized, brightly colored roller skates, and kids’ toys are scattered throughout the apartment. “My daughter-in-law cleans the apartment for me, and she brings the grandkids when she comes over. They get to roller skate here, and we go to the playground,” he said.

Talking about his grandchildren made Mitch emotional, and it became clear that his family was his biggest motivator for maintaining sobriety. “My son just had a baby, and they named him after me,” he said as his eyes filled with tears. “There’s no way I’m gonna go back to drugs and alcohol. I’d miss my grandbabies.” (When he was using, Mitch’s son had cut him off from seeing his family. “But now I get to see them all the time,” Mitch said.)

He also recently reconnected with his daughter in California after years apart. “I wouldn’t have that in my life without this,” he said of the housing and support he received.

When asked what he hopes for next, his answer is simple.

“I’m just digging being alive.”

After years of homelessness, addiction, loss, and instability, he says Rural Resources and Dominican Sisters Haven gave him something he thought he might never have again: safety, community, and deep connection with his family.

“This place saved my life,” he said. “Without Rural Resources and this place, who knows?”