During my first year at high school, I became addicted to cocaine.  My parents responded quickly by sending me off to a rehab centre in the United States, where, I was diagnosed with several mental health issues and a learning disability.   The next four years of my life were spent living in rehabs and psychiatric hospitals, learning how to deal with my emotions, my addiction, my mental illnesses, and my learning disability.

Once back in Toronto I relapsed, and this time since I was an adult my parents kicked me out and cut me off financially.  They felt they had done all they could for me.

Within the first 24 hours of being on the streets I was robbed and beaten.  I had no contact with my family, my friends had abandoned me and I had now lost all of my belongings.  I learned quickly how to fend for myself.  I lived on the streets for three years.  I slept on park benches, or on top of cardboard boxes.  I panhandled for money to afford my addiction and my personal needs.  I was assaulted several times on the streets, but my defining moment was when a cab driver offered to drive me somewhere for free and assaulted me in an alley in the back of the cab.  That is what motivated me to get off the street and to quit drugs.  I had heard about Eva’s Initiatives from the food bank I used.

When I arrived at Eva’s I was handed a key – my very own key to my very own room, where I could close the door and know I was safe.  I looked at the key and started to cry.  This was my first key ever – it meant I had stuff worth protecting, worth locking up – and I had privacy.

I enrolled in Eva’s life skills and employment program which taught me how to save money, how to budget, write a resume, dress and apply for a job.  I was taught how to communicate in a positive manner and, most importantly, through educational assessments, what type of job would be good for me.  Through Eva’s employment placement program I was able to get a job working in a day care where I realized that I wanted to be an early childhood educator.  The work brought me passion and joy, and getting out of bed every day became easier. And they were there to help me access the resources I needed to quit drugs permanently.

Eva’s has taught me how to advocate for myself, that I do not need to self-medicate and that I am strong enough to face any issue. Being a part of the community at Eva’s has allowed me to make some amazing friends who continue to support and encourage me.

I am now registered at Ryerson University in their Early Childhood Program and have my second key — to my own apartment.   My long term goals include becoming a teacher, and owning my own house.

Thanks to the continued support I receive from Eva’s, my relationship with my family is better than ever, and for the first time in my life I am proud of myself, my achievements, and of the person I have become.