My Recovery Journey
I walked out of custody in my mid-thirties with no ID, no bank account, and a decade of active addiction behind me. I had burned every bridge and was carrying the heavy weight of prison identity and old street beliefs.
Today, four years later, I’m a full-time roofer in Ottawa earning a trade wage and building a life that actually holds. I learned how to shed that old identity, drop the beliefs that kept me stuck, and navigate real Ottawa systems — methadone, shelters, OHIP-funded rehab, safe supply, and re-entering the workforce.
That journey taught me what actually works on the ground.
