When I decided to change my life I was 18 years old. My addiction started when I was 13. I grew up as a kid who always felt different from all the other kids in class. I dealt with insecurities and bullying through elementary up until high-school. I really felt like I didn’t belong, and this took me down a dark path. Because, when I found other people similar to myself in high-school I was easily influenced to do what they were doing so that I could fit in. This began with skipping class to go smoke, or hanging out with different boys in my high-school. I started to rebel and run away from home. I started attending all of the parties, and to this day I can remember my first drink. I felt a huge relief and sense of belonging-it just felt right to me. And after that day, I couldn’t stop. One drug lead to the other and my addiction started to progress.

By the time grade nine ended for me I was fully emerged into addiction. I was using most substances on a daily basis. I started getting involved with dangerous people, drug dealers, going to un-safe places, and getting into trouble with the law. I was running away from everything important to me and instead searching for some kind of relief of what was going on inside for me. Drugs and Alcohol became my life. I managed to get kicked out of two high-schools leading me to an alternative school. My family was in an immense amount of pain and they had no clue what to do. My addiction was progressing and becoming more and more present-affecting everyone around me. I became depressed, hopeless, sad, angry, and all I knew then was that I couldn’t stop no matter what I tried to do.

I was at a point in my life where I was starting to losing everything. My friends, family, education, work, and my physical and mental health. Then, I really started really falling off, and I knew if I kept going the way I was- I wasn’t going to make it to my 19th birthday. I started making the calls, and Westminster House was a program I heard of and decided to apply for. Over the phone they were so kind and welcoming, and I felt that they were able to really understand what was going on for me. This was my first time going to a treatment facility considered as an adult. And I can really say that participating in this program taught me how to become a woman. They taught me how to show up in life as a loving, kind, and responsible young woman-and better yet when a situation arises, I am now able to respond in a healthy manner.

Westminster house gave me wonderful connections with other women that will me last a lifetime. I didn’t know how to have healthy relationships (this was a big learning opportunity for me while I was at the facility). I finally had a sense of belonging. I started feeling happy again, and able to work through tough emotions with all the amazing staff at the house. My life today is a life I would’ve never imagined a few years ago. Thanks to this program I can now say that I love the person I am. I am connected with my family, I participate in 12-step meetings, I show up to work, I wake up in the morning grateful to be alive, have beautiful friendships, and most importantly everything that I’ve learned allows me to give back to others. Westminster house saved my life. We are here for you, just call!

We do recover.

-Lauren B.