Spotlight on Emilie

Westminster house not only saved my life, but it also helped me to build a life that I wanted to live. On the morning that I made the decision to check myself into treatment, I remember sitting and looking at myself in the mirror, tears streaming down my face. I was begging myself to stop drinking, and then in the next moment, I was picking up the bottle.

I felt hopeless and thought I had no choices to make, that this was always going to be my life, and that if that was the case I might as well be dead. Luckily, my family was so determined to help me that they offered me a lifeline- treatment for addiction. When I said goodbye to my family both of my parents were crying, and I could see the pain in their eyes. I felt tears streaking my cheeks and pain in my own heart. I was so adamant that I never wanted to be the cause of that pain again.

When I arrived at Westminster house I was broken, hopeless, and a shell of the person I had once been. Within 2 weeks I could genuinely smile. I could enjoy the first signs of spring. I could laugh. I could picture a future for myself. It had been years since I could do any of those things. My time at Westminster House was spent learning that I could have a good life, and with the support of all of the staff, I started building it. The individual and group counselling taught me so much. I loved that they followed a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model. That model still works in my life today.

When my parents came to visit after my first 2 weeks there, I was sitting at a table enjoying a cup of tea with them and when I looked over at my dad, I saw tears in his eyes. I asked if he was ok, and he said he was more than ok, he said “I haven’t seen that smile on your face in years.” I had not seen it there for far too long as well.

Today I am sitting in my home, a safe, vibrant, and happy place. Today I have hope, I have dreams, and I wake up grateful and happy to be alive every single day. Thank you, Westminster House, for giving me choices, dreams, and happiness.