'All that was left for me was jail or death:' Manitoban credits Winnipeg treatment centre for saving his life
CBC
Shane Sturby-Highfield was homeless, unemployed and struggling with drug and alcohol abuse — and without Winnipeg's Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, he would either be in jail or dead, he says.
The 36-year-old father entered the four-month treatment program in December 2021 when he said his addictions had left him at rock bottom.
"I knew all that was left for me was jail or death," Sturby-Highfield said. "I was defeated. I was exhausted."
The 36-year-old has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse since he was 15 and said he had previously tried twice to get sober, including attending a 72-day, live-in residential treatment program. But nothing ever stuck.
He said he ended up selling his house and spending the money to feed his addiction. He lost his son, his family and all his savings.
He was homeless and living on the street and said he tried to take his own life a number of times.
"I missed my son. I missed my family. I missed the stability that I had before in my life. I didn't have a purpose. Without that the hope is gone pretty quickly and the lights are fizzling out.," he said.
Eventually he called a friend and told him to come get him the next morning and take him to detox.
"I said this is how you're gonna find me and if the door is locked, break it down, like do whatever you have to do to get me," he said.
He spent four days at Main Street Project, where a staff member helped connect him with the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre.
He spent the next eight months at the centre getting clean and starting his life over.
Sturby-Highfield is now one of nearly 200 graduates who have gone through the full four-month treatment program at the centre since it opened two years ago.
He has been sober for nearly 18 months, which he said is the longest he's ever been sober since he was 15.
On Wednesday night, the nine newest graduates walked across the gymnasium stage to celebrate with their family and loved ones.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.