>> Sreenivasan: FOR THE LAST FEW
WEEKS WE'VE BEEN BRINGING YOU
PERSONAL STORIES FROM MEMBERS OF
COMMUNITIES IN CANADA'S
NORTHWEST TERRITORY OF
YELLOWKNIFE.
THE STORIES, WHICH ADDRESS THE
DIFFICULT TOPIC OF ALCOHOL
ABUSE, ARE PART OF AN
EMPOWERMENT JOURNALISM SERIES
CALLED "TURNING POINTS," DONE IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GLOBAL
REPORTING CENTER.
TODAY WE HEAR FROM DEVIN
HINCHEY, WHO IS METIS, OR OF
MIXED INDIGENOUS AND EUROPEAN
ANCESTRY, ABOUT HIS ROAD FROM
ADDICTION TO RECOVERY.
>> THERE'S NO TYPICAL ALCOHOLIC
OR ADDICT.
IT DOESN'T MATTER, YOU KNOW,
YOUR ETHNICITY, WHERE YOU COME
FROM, THE LIFE THAT YOU'VE
LIVED.
I HAD A PRETTY DECENT
UPBRINGING.
I DIDN'T HAVE CRAZY, CRAZY STUFF
HAPPEN TO ME LIKE A LOT OF MY
FRIENDS HAVE LIVED THROUGH, AND
I STILL ENCOUNTERED THE SAME
ISSUES WITH DRUGS AND ALCOHOL.
WHEN I LEFT YELLOWKNIFE I WENT
TO A HIGH SCHOOL WHERE THERE WAS
REALLY NO SUPERVISION AND, FOR
ME, ALREADY KIND OF
EXPERIENCING, LIKE, SOME
DEPRESSIVE THOUGHTS.
EVERY NIGHT I'D COME HOME FROM
SCHOOL I KNEW THAT I COULD SMOKE
WEED OR DRINK AND I'D FEEL
BETTER.
COME ON!
>> I THINK I REALLY NOTICED A
CHANGE, IT PROBABLY WASN'T 'TIL
THE END OF GRADE 12.
WE HAD ONE NIGHT WHERE YOU GOT
TRASHED AND YOU HIT ME AND, AND
I THINK THAT'S WHEN IT REALLY
CLICKED INTO ME THAT THERE WAS
SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON.
>> IN THE MIDDLE OF, LIKE, A
REALLY DARK ADDICTION, IT'S
REALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY EXACTLY
WHAT'S GOING ON WHILE IT'S GOING
ON, BUT I THINK TY WAS THE
CLOSEST PERSON I GOT TO SAYING
THAT, AND BASICALLY TO GET BACK,
"WHATEVER YOU NEED," OR, LIKE,
"WHATEVER YOU DO, I'M THERE FOR
YOU."
AND THEN I WENT TO UNIVERSITY
AND THE FIRST HARD DRUG THAT I
TRIED WAS ECSTASY, IT WAS
M.D.M.A.
AND FROM THERE, IT WAS HONESTLY
KIND OF LIKE THE FLOODGATES
OPENED.
BY NOVEMBER OF MY FIRST
SEMESTER, I WAS USING SOMETHING
EVERY DAY.
I STARTED DEVELOPING, UH, LIKE
THESE REALLY DARK, KIND OF
LIFE-ENDING THOUGHTS.
AND I REMEMBER NEAR THE END OF
THAT YEAR, I WAS REALLY HIGH ON
M.D.M.A. AND I REMEMBER BEING IN
A CAB AND LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE
WINDOWS AND THE STREETLIGHTS
WERE ALMOST, LIKE, STRETCHING
OUT.
LIKE, I JUST KIND OF STOPPED
FEELING MY HEART BEATING.
LIKE, I COULDN'T FEEL, DIDN'T
HAVE A LOT OF FEELING IN MY
CHEST.
AND I REMEMBER THINKING, LIKE,
"I AM OVERDOSING RIGHT NOW."
LIKE, "I AM OVERDOSING ON
M.D.M.A. AND I'M PROBABLY GOING
TO DIE."
THAT WAS WHEN IT GOT REALLY,
REALLY REAL.
>> I'M GLAD THAT YOU REACHED OUT
AND I'M VERY GLAD THAT, THAT IT,
IT WASN'’’T TOO LATE.
>> THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I
FELT COMFORTABLE.
YOU KNOW, I'M NOT ALONE AND I'M
NOT CRAZY.
I'’’M NOT INSANE.
AND I'M GOING TO BE AT LEAST
ACCEPTED BY SOMEONE IF I GET
HELP WITH THIS.
WHEN I WENT TO TREATMENT, IT WAS
REALLY FRUSTRATING AT TIMES.
I'M 19, I JUST FAILED OUT OF
SCHOOL.
I'VE SPENT A, A TON OF MONEY
THAT WASN'’’T MINE.
STOLE MONEY TO FUND THIS
ADDICTION.
WHY COULDN'’’T I JUST STOP?
LIKE, THAT WAS A LOT OF MY
THOUGHTS.
LIKE, "WHY COULDN'T I STOP?"
SO, TREATMENT WAS REALLY GOOD
FOR LEARNING THAT ADDICTION AND
ALCOHOLISM ARE DISEASES.
AND, LIKE, THE WORD THAT'S USED
DAILY IS, LIKE, POWERLESSNESS.
I HAD NO POWER OVER MY
ALCOHOLISM, OVER MY ADDICTION.
I THINK THE BIGGEST PART FOR ME,
THOUGH, WAS COMING BACK FROM
TREATMENT, YOUR RESPONSE WAS
LIKE, "WHAT ARE YOU COMFORTABLE
WITH?
WHAT CAN I DO?
WHERE CAN'T WE GO?"
YOU JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND--
>> THE LIMITS.
>> YEAH.
>> WHAT, WHAT WAS GOING TO SET
YOU BACK OR WHAT I COULD DO TO
HELP YOU MOVE FORWARD.
IT'S HELPED ME, UM, UNDERSTAND
THAT WHAT I SEE ISN'T THE WHOLE
PICTURE.
LIKE, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE TO
IT THAN WHAT PEOPLE ARE SHOWING
YOU.
I THINK IT MADE ME A BETTER
FRIEND.
IT MADE OUR FRIENDSHIP STRONGER,
THAT'’’S FOR SURE.
>> JUST BECAUSE I'M SOBER OR
BECAUSE SOMEONE IS SOBER DOESN'T
MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPLETELY
CHANGE.
ALL RIGHT, YOU READY?
WHEN I GOT OUT OF TREATMENT, WE
WERE TEXTING ABOUT MATCHING
TATTOOS.
I THINK IT STARTED OUT HALF AS A
JOKE AND YOU SUGGESTED THE
INUKSUK.
IN THE PAST TWO YEARS OF MY
LIFE, I'VE HAD MORE FUN BEING
SOBER THAN I DID EVER.
WELL, I JUST FINISHED, UH, MY
UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA, WHICH IS
HONESTLY SOMETHING I NEVER
THOUGHT I WOULD SAY.
AND NOW THAT I HAVE THAT, MY
NEXT STEP IS GOING TO BE
PURSUING A CAREER IN SOCIAL
WORK, AND WORKING WITH PEOPLE
AND JUST TRYING TO HELP WHOEVER
AND WHATEVER I CAN.
I'VE LIVED IN NANAIMO, TORONTO,
LONDON, AND YELLOWKNIFE AND
YELLOWKNIFE IS A LOT DIFFERENT,
ESPECIALLY REGARDING DRUGS AND
ALCOHOL.
IT'S SO EASY UP HERE TO GO DOWN
THE RABBIT HOLE.
PEOPLE REACT TO DRUG USE
DIFFERENTLY UP HERE.
IT'S KNOWN THAT IT'S A PROBLEM
AND IT'S, LIKE, ACCEPTED THAT
IT'S A PROBLEM, BUT I FEEL LIKE
THERE'S A STIGMA AROUND SOBRIETY
AND RECOVERY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I SPOKE OUT ABOUT
MY STORY, I HAD PEOPLE IN THE
RECOVERY COMMUNITY TELLING ME IT
WAS A BAD IDEA, LIKE, I
SHOULDN'T DO THAT, I SHOULDN'T
SPEAK ABOUT THAT.
IF THERE'S ONE PERSON WHO CAN
HEAR SOMEONE SHARE A STORY AND
THAT URGES THEM TO REACH OUT,
WHY IS THAT NOT OKAY?
I'M NOT GOING TO SPEAK LIKE I
KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS TO HOW TO
CHANGE THAT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING
THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED AND
THAT CAN BE CHANGED.