For the men in Toronto’s Good Shepherd homeless shelter and addiction program, the centre’s inaugural Super Bowl party created an evening of milestones.

“Usually, I’m in a bar or sitting on someone’s couch with a drink between my legs,” said Joseph Mowbray, 39, a resident of the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Enrichment (DARE) Program, who planned to avoid Super Bowl drinks for the first time in years.

“This time around it should be fun. It’ll be the guys from the shelter and the guys from DARE. There don’t seem to be too many differences between us,” Mowbray said.

Plans for the Super Bowl party began after Pizza Pizza offered free pizza and pop to the Good Shepherd and Covenant House, a downtown Toronto centre for homeless youth.

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Michael Sheiner of Covenant House, said the showdown between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons is a great bonding event for the 95 homeless young people and staff.

“And, just like any other family, we are all going to gather together, eat some pizza and watch the game,” Sheiner said.

After hearing of the pizza offer, the Good Shepherd’s Brother Tom Liss said workers decided to go all out and create a real party, renting a 60-inch television for better viewing of tackles and touchdowns.

“For the (25) men waiting to get into an outside residential rehab program, the Super Bowl game will be a nice break, and for the 70 other men, it gives them a chance to celebrate and take part in what normal housed people take part in,” Liss said.

“It makes them feel like they are part of a normal community. Homelessness creates a disconnection with the rest of society and this type of event brings them back into society.”

For men in the addiction rehab preparation program (they will later go to alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres across the Toronto region), the Super Bowl party affords an opportunity to stay sober and still enjoy sports.

“Some of these guys have had families, houses, jobs, cars and lost it all,” Liss said. “The game is a pick-me-up, a reminder of what they are working towards. Later, when they get their own housing, they’ll know this is something they can do in their own homes.”

David McComb, 56, lost his apartment after a long struggle with alcohol and drugs. He’s been in the pre-rehab program for two weeks. Participants are asked to help the homeless shelter residents by serving meals, picking up plates after dinner or talking about addiction recovery.

“This time I’ll be watching the game with no alcohol. I’ll be with a different group of guys, but it’s a great feeling to help the homeless. I can put my head down on my pillow at night and feel good,” McComb said.

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Another program member, Ryan, 42, (who did not give his last name) said the party gave him a safe way to see the game since he had been planning to watch it at a bar with a buddy in the same program.

“Let’s face it, it’s a bar, with another individual which is predisposing him to alcohol,” said Ryan, who is dealing with a drug addiction. “And there are other elements when you go to bars. It’s not too hard to score something.”

Ryan predicted a Patriots win. Mowbray said he’s cheering against Atlanta. And Liss, known as Brother Tom, figured a simple evening of sports and friendship was the biggest win of all.

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