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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Bailey House is a sanctuary for Kiet Thai and he's hoping it will stay that way.

Thai, 31, is bustling with energy in the programs room of the Bailey House transitional home for men on Friday morning.

Kiet Thai, 31, sits in his bachelor room in the Bailey House with his guitar. Thai, who has battled substance abuse for many years, said he is grateful and humbled at the second chance at life he is getting at the transitional home for men. Thai, an aspiring musician, said there are now no excuses to keep him from playing shows and doing what he loves. - Herb Mathisen/NNSL photo

A trailer fire in November forced him to move to the Salvation Army shelter and the Withdrawal Management Services program house for the three months prior to moving into Bailey House.

"I've had a troubled past, a troubled lifestyle and with the house fire, I feel like I've got a second chance at life, at a better life," he said. "I feel grateful for the new opportunities to better myself."

Tomorrow, he faces sentencing for several criminal charges, including break-and-enter and drug possession, which may impact his freedom.

"These are obstacles that I'm going through in my journey," he said. "The thing is, I have a court case and that is the final thing that I am trying to put behind me.

"I am in a better chapter in my life now. I have nothing to hide."

Although Thai is making plans for the future, he's not getting too far ahead of himself. "I try to take things day by day."

The Bailey House is a 32-room building that provides a home to men looking to get back on their feet.

House co-ordinator Ravan Bedingfield said tenants started moving in on Feb. 10. About 26 men were expected to have moved in by last Friday.

She said many of the tenants at Bailey House have prior convictions or are facing charges.

"Everybody who comes in has an extensive interview," she said, adding people deemed high-risk are not allowed in.

"If we don't think they will be a threat to staff here or other clients, we let them live here," she said.

Bedingfield said a lot of the legal issues facing tenants are tied to their past life choices.

"They kind of go hand in hand," she said.

She said if a tenant is jailed, their room could be held for them depending on the length of sentence.

Thai was born in Vietnam but has lived in Yellowknife for most of his life: "25 or 26 years," he said. He has struggled through substance abuse and has seen his share of run-ins with the law over the years. He said he's been clean and sober for three months.

"I feel I have accomplished something in these three months and the Bailey House is such a good foundation for me," he said.

"To me, it's like my sanctuary, you know?"

The gregarious and energetic Thai is now focused on turning the page and has a full-time job working in a local kitchen.

"I pay taxes again," he laughed. "I feel like I'm part of society now."

In the future, he said he would ideally like to go back to school and become a counsellor.

"You know, I've been there, I've done that," he said. "I've gone through struggles and stuff and a lot of people have been coming to me and talk to me and I find it's just compassion I have for that.

"It would be cool one day to actually help people who are going through stuff I've been through."

He said the camaraderie and brotherhood around the house helps tenants get through problems and he attends daily substance abuse programs like the Tree of Peace's Living in Balance.

Thai's brother lives a floor above him in the building.

"We've got each other's backs," he said.

Being a longtime Yellowknifer, he said it can be difficult to get clean when there are people around from the past, but he said his friends now see him in a different light.

He's even reconnecting with friends he lost during his troubled days.

"My old friends and people I rarely talked to because of the bad things when I used to be a user and all that, they didn't give me the time of day or whatever," he said.

"Now they shake my hand and they show me respect."

Thai's kids are in foster care and they visit him at the transitional home. "I feel like my kids love me more because now I have a lot of love."

He said the zero-tolerance with drugs and alcohol at the Bailey House is great.

"Obviously, it's here for a reason. It's here for people who are committed," he said. "It just keeps you focused on what you want in your life."

Bedingfield said the start-up has gone better than expected, although some tenants were having difficulty adjusting from living in shelters.

"They're not used to the quiet," she said.

Thai said he enjoys having a place to call home again. His room already has his stamp on it, with walls adorned with posters and a guitar resting against a plastic tree in the corner. Thai, an aspiring musician, plays guitar. He told Bedingfield he planned on buying a drum kit.

"Don't worry, it will be one of those electronic kits that you play with headphones on," he assured Bedingfield. Thai said he has played the local event Music in the Park in the past and said he is excited to get out and do what he loves.

"This summer, I have no excuse or no reason not to do what I want to do and what I love to do in my life and I want to perform this summer," he said.

"That is one of the main achievements that I want to reach."