I graduated from Our House in 2021 after being there for 13 months and by truly buying into the NA program and the ideas of “playing the tape forward”, and “one is too many and a thousand is never enough”. I was able to bring myself to a state of mind where I was comfortable telling myself and others that I am an addict choosing to stay sober, that I may want to use still, but cannot anymore. With the help of my counselor and the staff I was able to get to where I am today and can be comfortable around my family or friends when someone is drinking at a dinner, while camping or whatnot, because I know I cannot do that anymore. I am comfortable telling people that I cannot use and explaining why. It took practice and being very safe early on in situations to make sure that if I felt tempted, I had a way to remove myself from the situation and get somewhere where I could recognize the triggers and work my way through them.

“My name is Shane, and I am a grateful, recovering addict. I began my journey of recovery 17 years ago after I lost my mother to suicide. My mother’s death was almost expected as she had been in and out of the mental hospital since I was 13 years old, but nevertheless it was a traumatizing event that sent me straight into a heavy downward spiral with an addiction to crack cocaine. After a hard bottom, I went to Henwood in 2002. I was relieved to have found a tried-and-proven formula to live a clean and sober life through 12-step meetings. Once clean, I decided to better my life by finishing my high school, upgrading, then going to college at NAIT. I graduated with a diploma in Construction Engineering Technology. I met the most beautiful woman in the world, both inside and out, and she invited me to church. I gave my life over to Jesus and we were married soon after. We had two beautiful daughters, bought a house, and life was amazing. In February of 2014 we had a son who we named Elijah. Elijah was in and out of the Stollery and when he was two years old, we found out he had a very rare genetic disorder. I did not deal with my feelings around Elijah`s disorder; I tried to stay busy working and disassociated. I relapsed after 5 years clean and started using opiates like fentanyl. I ended up separating from my wife and children, selling our house, and living on the streets for 3 months. My old sponsor and friend has been clean for 19 years and he recommended Our House. I went to detox, they helped me fill out an application to Our House and before I knew it, I was accepted into Our House, where I still live. God Bless Our House.”