Sherry is getting a fresh start after years of struggling with addiction. Thank you for walking alongside community members like Sherry with compassion and understanding!
Sherry left home when she was only 16 years old. It was her birthday.
Her dad kicked her out after Sherry held a party when her parents were away. There was no second chance.
As far back as she could remember, Sherry’s life had always been unstable – both of her parents struggled with alcohol use, and fought constantly.
“They would start drinking on a Friday and then they would split up on the Saturday or Sunday and Mom would be dragging me to my aunt’s house and we’d stay there for the week.”
Moving out at such a young age with no coping skills of her own, Sherry turned to drugs.
She had already been experimenting with marijuana, but quickly moved on to harder substances – cocaine, ecstasy and mushrooms.
It wasn’t long before Sherry couldn’t go through a day without getting high.
Home never felt safe to me. I wasn’t allowed to have any emotions, to cry. I learned to keep everything inside.
And even when she became a mother a few years later, she couldn’t stop. She would often wait until her daughters went to sleep at night, but could rarely go a single day without taking something. Coping with reality was just too hard.
Sherry was able to maintain brief periods of abstinence after going to treatment programs. But during one period of no use, Sherry received devastating news. Her daughter had been molested by Sherry’s former boyfriend.
“That just tore my whole world apart. The one person that’s supposed to protect her innocence stole it.”
Sherry couldn’t cope.
“I was working night shift at the time, and so focused on taking care of her that I didn’t take care of myself. By the time I would get them off to school and feed them, it was time to go back to work. I could only hold on to that for so long. That’s when I relapsed.”
Sherry’s lifetime journey of drug use didn’t end until she entered House of Friendship’s Residential Treatment Program. It was the chance she needed to begin again. And while she had tried to quit before for others, this time was different.
“This time, I wanted to be there. This was for me,” said Sherry.
While in the program, Sherry learned to face her emotions and truly feel them – and finally forgive herself.
Using the techniques Sherry developed while part of House of Friendship’s program, Sherry learned how to face life, with all its joys and struggles.
Sherry is continuing with counselling, and makes sure to attend support meetings every day. She’s learning to be comfortable with her emotions – and that’s okay to not be okay.
“I know now that I deserve to be happy.”
“It’s a vital part of my recovery to stay connected with others, to talk to people who’ve gone through what I have gone through,” said Sherry. “I can be myself. I don’t have to hide.”
Sherry knows that she has a tough journey ahead of her, but is thankful for the change to begin again through House of Friendship’s Residential Addiction Treatment program.
Thank you for being part of a caring community of support – you are helping to fight the stigma of addiction, and giving people like Sherry the second chance they so desperately need!
Posted on: September 8th, 2023
