Rediscovering inner strength
During September recovery month, St. Joe’s recognizes two women who are finding their way
Melody Haigh, a gifted pastry chef was making a name for herself a decade ago in Toronto’s competitive culinary industry. But her passion fell to pieces when she could no longer
conceal her daily drinking. It started as a way to block out childhood trauma, but Melody found she could no longer function.
“It was pretty all consuming,” says Melody.
So extreme was her struggle, that in her early 30s Melody found herself with no where to live and unable to hold down a job.
Like many teens, Melissa Meyers embarked on underage drinking with her high school friends. But once she got to college, she started drinking alone.
“I didn’t see it as a problem at the time,” says Melissa. “I was in my 20s and having fun.”
Eventually, Melissa married a man who supported her addiction. Sober through two pregnancies, Melissa returned to excessive drinking after the arrival of her two children. She and her partner’s dependency on alcohol took a toll.
“My marriage ended because of alcohol. I lost my kids. I lost my house,” adds Melissa, “and I lost myself. My self worth, compassion, and respect.”
Both women knew they needed help in order to change their circumstances.
“That phone weighs thousands of pounds when you want to seek help, but you’re too scared,” says Melissa. It’s a challenge she has undertaken six times, most recently at Womankind at St. Joseph’s Healthcare. Although it sounds daunting, Melissa has embraced this as her own path to recovery.
“I feel so blessed that this has been my journey. I’ve been able to pick up little tools and have learned so much from each treatment centre.”
At Womankind Melissa learned self compassion, self love and was able to rediscover herself.
“This time I’m really focused and I’m finding my purpose by going back to school. I’m in an accelerated Personal Support Worker course.”
Melody has tackled recovery twice before and says it is a bit of trial and error.
“It’s trying to figure out, ‘what kind of help will work for me?’”
At Womankind she was moved by the compassion and dedication of the people who provided round-the-clock support.
“Eventually I started saying ‘yes’ to all the help they offered.”
In their search for rediscovery, Melissa and Melody found something unexpected, a sense of activism in the recovery community. They are both committed to banishing the stigma faced by anyone struggling addiction.
“Five years-ago I was so full of shame about my addiction,” says Melody. “Now, I’m strangely proud to be asked to talk about it. I want to fight that stigma.”
St. Joseph’s Healthcare offers numerous supports for anyone struggling with addiction.
- Womankind
- Men’s Addiction Service Hamilton (MASH)
- Youth Wellness Centre
- Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic (RAAM Clinic)
- Concurrent Disorder Outpatient Program
- Young Adult Substance Use Program
- Carole Ann’s Place in partnership with YWCA
- Cathedral Overflow/Mary’s Place in partnership with Good Shepherd Women Services