The first time I heard Nicole’s name, I was driving to work and there was an amber alert on CKNW. I can remember feeling sad and thankful at the same time – it’s wasn’t my daughter.
Nicole was missing. Using drugs on the downtown east side. Lost is a cesspool of addiction misery. Her parents were desperate for someone to help them.
Westminster House intervention team entered the hospital where Nicole was being held. Nicole, angry, dirty, lonely, helpless, hopeless. Heavily mediated and heavily addicted. It took some convincing, but we managed to convince her that there was a way out. There was hope. And Westminster House could help.
On December 20, 2014, Nicole entered Westminster House and stayed in treatment for 204 days, subsequently winning the first-ever Award of Education and now is a University Graduate. It was not always easy. but so worth it.