Men in Surrey treatment and recovery centre learn how to knit together

Nelson Mendonca is knitting his life together one stitch at a time.

Technically, what Mendonca and a group of men at the Phoenix Society are doing isn’t knitting since it doesn’t involve traditional knitting needles.

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Instead, they use a loom to knit yarn together. It’s called looming.

“At first I thought, ‘People are going to think I’m weird or whatever,’” Mendonca said.

“Once I started knitting in public, I didn’t really care what people think. I enjoy doing it and I’m going to do it.”

Far from being ostracized, Mendonca has created a new activity at the treatment and recovery centre which helps women and men break the cycle of addiction and homelessness.

As many as 10 men at a time are now looming. They’ve made about 200 toques, which have ended up as gifts to loved ones and as donations to a women’s recovery house. They want other toques to go to the homeless and to babies in hospital once the pandemic is over.