A Long and Winding Road
Wes’ Story
In May of this year I celebrated seven years of sobriety.
It’s been a long road.
I’ve moved around a lot in my life. I’ve lived in small-town Ontario, worked on the rigs in Alberta and trained with the Canadian armed forces.
It didn’t matter where I went, my addiction to drugs and alcohol chased me. Every time I thought I had a fresh start, I would wind up back at the liquor store.
For decades I did this dance, looking for freedom in the next town.
One day I called a friend asking for money (not for the first time either!) and because he was always looking out for me, he connected with my sister.
My sister told me that she thought my addiction would kill me and that she couldn’t watch me do this to myself anymore. Her fears were not unfounded — more people than ever before were suffering and dying from abusing substances across Canada.
She found a spot for me at a recovery centre in B.C. and bought me a plane ticket. She said I could take it or my family would be done with me.
As a family man, this was devastating to me.
I don’t even remember the flight. I don't remember arriving at Hope for Freedom.
The first thing I remember was seeing people who were happy. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen men that were happy. In my experience, men were always angry.
With years of work and commitment to my sobriety, my faith and serving others, I’ve joined the ranks of happy men.
I have a wife who loves me, two children I am completely devoted to and an active volunteer life as a sponsor, accountability partner, leader at Celebrate Recovery and board member at Hope for Freedom.
In all my previous attempts at recovery, I had well-meaning young people who had never had a problem with addiction try to help me, and it just didn’t stick.
At Hope for Freedom I found addicts helping addicts, and that made all the difference.
It’s such a strong program because the motivation to keep going is the lives you’ve seen changed. The people helping you up have survived the depths of addictions themselves.
Without donor support, Hope for Freedom wouldn’t be there for people like me. I am deeply grateful for everything you and others have given to create this incredible community and give me a second chance at life.
When I walk my young daughter to Kindergarten, I feel grateful to be her Dad. The life and family I’ve built since I came to Hope for Freedom is beyond what I dreamed for myself – thank you for making that possible.