Womankind: A safe space for addiction recovery
Tara Smith (far right) is a former client of St. Joe’s Womankind Addiction Service. Owing to programming at Womankind, Smith says she is fortunate to have recovered from addiction, and to rekindle her relationship with her children, including her daughter Audrey (far left), daughter-in-law Samantha (middle) and son Todd (right).
With the second wave of COVID-19 underway, Tara Smith, a former client turned volunteer at St. Joe’s Womankind Addiction Service, knows all too well the impact of isolation on people with substance use disorders.
“The pandemic is causing a lot of loneliness and one of the worst things an addict can do is isolate,” she says. “When you stop associating with people, you can get caught up in feeding your addiction.”
Over the last decade, the Hamilton resident and mother of two struggled with an alcohol and opiate addiction that spiraled into a “vicious cycle” of being in and out of withdrawal management, eventually leaving her homeless and alone.
“If Womankind wasn’t there, the next step was the streets,” Smith says. “Womankind let me back again and again, and helped me over and over. They let me live in their shelter, which is the best thing I could have done to get my life back on the right path.”
Losing everything
Smith came from a family of addicts. Growing up, she swore she would never go down the same path. When weekend drinking snowballed into weekdays, however, substances took over her day-to-day life.
“Eventually, I became addicted to alcohol physically – not just the craving addiction,” Smith says. “We call it an allergy, meaning I can’t safely use any mind-altering substances because my body needs more.”
To curb withdrawal symptoms, drinking became part of her morning routine. Perpetuating the cycle, she treated the depression and anxiety she experienced from using alcohol with a cocktail of pills.
“On the outside, we looked like the typical family with the white picket fence, but it’d gotten to the point where I was picking up my daughter from dance class completely wasted, and getting in to accidents on the way to volleyball practice,” Smith says.
It took losing contact with her children, a career in municipal government, a home in the suburbs, and her car and licence, for Smith to find the strength to commit to sobriety.
“People have different bottoms, but I had to lose everything. And that’s OK, because now I have a clean start,” she adds.
A safe place for help
Smith attributes five years of sobriety to the community she found at Womankind, and the care she received by the service’s staff and clinicians.
“Womankind was the safest place I could go,” she says. “The people there were compassionate and empathetic. When I felt better and wanted to leave, they would beg me to stay and say, ‘Tara, just give it another day.’”
In addition to withdrawal management, Womankind offers clients day and residential treatment, an emergency shelter, an aftercare program aimed at preventing relapse, and a writing group, among other programs.
“We create a safe space,” says Kari Whitelaw, Clinical Supervisor at Womankind. “That’s what Womankind is really about. Our programming looks at each client to make an individualized plan for recovery, and to make lifestyle changes that are right for them.”
Giving back
Today, Smith has reunited with her children, and is looking forward to soon becoming a grandmother. In addition to her family, giving back to the program that supported her recovery helps her stay on course.
At Womankind, she assists with 12-step meetings and support groups for women who struggle with substance use disorders.
“You’ve got to give back what you’ve been freely given and I’ve been given sobriety,” she says
In sharing her experience, she reminds others battling addiction they are not alone, there is support out there, as well as hope for the future.
“Community is a huge part of recovery because you need to find people like you,” Smith adds.