>> 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.