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Phillis Fleury is from Wet'suwet'en and Witset First Nation. She has worked for four years as an outreach worker for Central Interior Native Health.  She shares her thanks and gratitude to Central Interior Native Health for the opportunity to continue to support others on their healing journey.

Like many First Nations people, I experienced trauma as a direct result of colonialism, including residential schools. My mother went to residential schools and that impacted her. When I was born, she left me at the hospital. I was grateful to have my grandparents take me in and raise me.  

I struggled with alcoholism for 35 years throughout my adulthood. During this time, my children were in and out of care with the Ministry of Children and Family Development and I fought to regain custody. I also attended several treatment centres and healing camps as a part of my healing journey. There I learned different tools and ways to deal with my traumas and hurts. Finally, I decided to go to Ormund Lake Healing Camp. I realized I needed this for myself and my own healing.

I believe that going to the treatment centres and dealing with each part of my life that hurt me is what allowed me to begin truly healing and getting to the root of that pain and trauma. I was able to come to terms with the death of my son to sudden infant death syndrome and let go of him in a traditional way, which helped my journey towards sobriety.

I made changes to my life to remove hurts and applied the tools I learned to help me stay sober. After four years of sobriety, I got my driver's licence reinstated and was able to get a job.

In 2018, my son Colton Fleury went missing. I began looking for him – travelling down to Vancouver to search. There, I saw more hurt, more addiction and more First Nations people that needed help like I once did. I wanted to help, so I applied for a job as an outreach worker. Through this job, I now help others on their journey by sharing my experiences and learnings. 

I was able to get through the loss of my third son, who passed away in an accident at 34 years old. What I learned while attending treatment centres helped me to cope with this grief. I use this knowledge to help others through my work.

In my healing, I went through the process of laying him to rest. At this time, I chose to buy headstone markers for my late-husband and my two sons as well. I didn't view this as a closing, but a way to complete my grieving process and make me feel stronger.

I attend Prince George Street Church and have found that it supports me in so many ways. I like how they are welcoming and inclusive and that they feed and care for people the way I do at my job. Getting prayers from my church family helps give me strength to stay on my sobriety path, and to continue searching for Colton.  

Part of the alcoholism on the reserve is residential school and kids being taken away and not living with their parents. My grandparents took care of me, and my grandfather was part of a catalyst for my sobriety. When he passed on from alcoholism, I was able to let him go at Ormand Lake Healing Camp, and I was finally able to walk into his house again.

May 12, 2024, marked 12 years of sobriety for me. I do not count by years, but I wake up every day and say, “Nothing is going to hurt me today." I learned that it's important to look out for your own wellness and soul, and to love and honour yourself.

This journey isn't easy, but with the right support and love , there is much more that we can accomplish together than alone.

For more information and stories from previous campaigns, visit our Sober for October webpage.​