It took Anthony a long time to believe change was possible — but when he made the call to Renascent, it helped save his life.

“I’d been using drugs and alcohol since I was about 11,” he shares, “and my life was just chaos. Jail, fights, car accidents, overdoses … It was awful, but I didn’t think I could live any other way.”

Anthony entered Renascent’s inpatient program shortly after an overdose nearly claimed his life. His addiction felt inescapable, and he’d all but given up.

“I’d hit rock bottom over and over,” he reflects. “But after the last time I was in jail, something shifted. I knew I was getting increasingly violent, and I was just so tired of the way I was living.”

In treatment, Anthony learned how to change not just his habits, but also how he saw himself and what he believed was possible.

“Unlike in other treatment centres, the counsellors at Renascent are all in recovery themselves,” he says. “They had lived what I was going through; they hadn’t just learned about addiction from a textbook.  Working with them, for the first time I believed I could get better.”

Slowly, what once felt impossible became his reality – and today, Anthony’s world looks very different. Sixteen months into recovery, he works in harm reduction outreach, supports others in recovery, and is reconnecting with his Indigenous roots.  He recently completed his first Sundance ceremony — a powerful, traditional ritual of renewal, healing, and spiritual connection.

“The ceremony is about enduring pain to see life more clearly, and it was an intense three days of fasting, prayer, dancing, and other rituals,” he explains.  “That experience changed me.”

Today, Anthony draws strength from many sources: his culture, his recovery community, and most of all, his family — including his young daughter, who remains his greatest motivation.

But perhaps the most profound transformation has been within himself.

“In addiction, I was really judgmental, hateful, and angry,” he says. “But in recovery, I’ve learned to be kind — and not just to others, but to myself.

I actually love and care about myself today. And that’s the foundation for everything.”