September is Recovery Month Canada, an annual campaign aimed at bringing awareness to supports for addictions.

Content Warning: The following deeply personal story was shared with the FNHA's Office of the Chief Medical Officer by Recovery Wellness Champion Shannon Alec from Lake Babine Nation. This content contains descriptions about substance use, sexual assault, violence and suicidal ideation, and may be triggering for some readers. Here is a link to our page listing mental health supports.

I am so grateful to the Creator for the life I have now. At 44 years old, I feel happy and healthy, and enjoy my work helping others. I am a Youth Worker for my Nation, and a student at UBC, where I'm in my second year of their Bachelor of Education program. Oh, and I just got engaged! I have accomplished all of these good things during the past three and half years that I have been in recovery and free from using substances (since April 15, 2021).

Before this, my life was very different. I am a Carrier woman who was raised in BC on a reserve (Lake Babine First Nation) in northwest Canada. I have three brothers and had three sisters – one sister was murdered in 2022. I started smoking when I was nine years old, smoking weed and drinking when I was 16, and crack cocaine when I turned 23. I became highly addicted for three years straight, so much so that I started working as an escort to feed my habit.

I spent seven years barely surviving on the streets of Vancouver and Prince George, doing hard drugs like crack cocaine, meth, acid, 'shrooms, heroin, and fentanyl. I was so close to ending my life many times. I overdosed 15 times and was abused mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually. I got involved with a gang, and ended up being tortured and almost killed. They lit my house on fire, raped me, and treated me like I was nothing.

I ended up in jail, where I was treated like an animal. It took four days to come down off fentanyl. They turned the air conditioner up on high even though it was 40 below outside. I felt like smashing my head against the cement to end my life while I was coming down off these harsh drugs.

I also tried going to treatment but relapsed after someone very dear to me died. After I saw over 250 people die, including my baby sister, my cousin, my best friend, and my father figure, I finally decided to quit all drugs and walk away from the street life. I had a spiritual awakening and decided to change my life for good; I surrendered my life to the Creator. I had had enough of chasing a high that never really took away the pain that was embedded into my soul since I was a child, living with sexual abuse.

I thought that I was “damaged goods," that I would never amount to anything in life, but I decided to try again. I admitted myself into the hospital and I went back to the home I was raised in. I slowly quit using drugs day by day. I did not use suboxone or methadone to come down off the fentanyl, just weed for the pain and sleeping pills to make me sleep. The anxiety and temptation I felt to use again just to feel nothing was the hardest thing I ever experienced. For four days, I could only have clear fluids – I couldn't eat solid foods or walk a block on my own.

It helped a lot that I was able to live in the women's shelter on my reserve. They had a curfew and rules I had to live by. They helped me regain my strength and allowed me to stay there until I could find a good home of my own. Being in a healthy environment around healthy people is very important! I still to this day live in that same heathy home. I also had a counsellor and a female sponsor from AA, as well as other sober people in my life.

Six months after my recovery, I started school. I graduated with honours with my certification and diploma for the Carrier Language Program, and am now at UBC working on my Bachelor of Education. I also kept very busy working three different jobs; one as an Occupational First Aid attendant, another as a chef for a daycare, and another as a youth worker.

Today I am a responsible person, and I respect myself. I learned to forgive my past and I let go of that part of my life. I am truly grateful for who I have become, and I hope others find the courage to move forward and speak up as well! I have been sharing my story of recovery all over the world through social media and by word of mouth. My goal is to write a book and become a counsellor so I can help other people all over the world to fight against addictions!

Read the stories of last year's recovery wellness champions:  https://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/two-fnha-recovery-wellness-champions-share-their-stories

If you or somebody you care about is looking for more information about treatment centres, including referrals, locations and descriptions, visit our Treatment Centres webpage​