Dear friend of Main Street Project,
I would like to introduce you to a remarkable young woman.
Meagan is 29-years-old and recently went through our detox program here at Main Street Project, seeking help for a decade long addiction to methamphetamine. Meagan courageously shared her story to help others better understand what it’s like to live with an addiction to meth.
“When I very first started doing it, I was 14. I did it for about eight months. The heavy involvement started again when I was 19. I was a single mom and I was lonely. I started having some friends come over and it was just something that they had. I ended up doing it and I was wide awake. I still took care of my daughter and did the things I had to do. I had gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy and I started losing weight and so I thought this drug is fantastic. I am getting smaller and I can keep up to every task I needed to do and nobody notices.
So, I did that for a while but of course things didn’t stay that way. There was like violence and things in my apartment and so my daughter was taken. My mom took her. I was in a couple of really abusive relationships that had gang ties and things like that. I had my jaw broken and I have plates and screws in both sides of my face. So, it wasn’t just the drugs. The lifestyle tied into a lot of other things, like the violence.
I’m waiting on my ninth treatment. I was there already this year from March until July. It was like the best treatment for me ever. I was working and going to school, I ran half a marathon, you know, I had structure in my life. It was what I needed. To have structure and to feel like I had a purpose in society. When I had left the program and thought everything was going to be good, I didn’t think to my own self that I was gonna use but, sure enough, within like an hour, I was using.
It’s been really disappointing because I have gone periods of time where it seems like everything is really good and then I fall back down. I always ended up getting back to the meth. It just seems like it has such a really big hold on my life. It’s really up and down. The past five months have been hell. There’s no way I can deal with having another slip. I can’t deal with it. I’m not in the right state of mind and I am dangerous. I’m not with it. Who can be around me? My family can’t.
There’s resources, like there’s places like this that are really good but there’s also a lot of judgment on it. There’s not an understanding and you’re labeled. You’re just a piece of crap, you’re a junkie. That’s very hurtful when you have people just shutting doors in your face or wanting to bring you down when you’re trying. It’s difficult and you’re sick.
It’s been really difficult, and extremely difficult for my family. My mom has done everything she can. I want to rebuild a relationship with my family. I would like to have my daughter back full-time but she is going to be 11 so if she decides to stay with my mom, that’s okay but I want to have a relationship with her.
I want to stay sober, to be clean from the meth. It’s taken so much of my life and it’s not just to the point of feeling sick and feeling crappy, it’s to the point of I need to stay sane.”
Meagan’s story is an important one to share, but unfortunately it’s not the only story like this at Main Street Project. Every day, Winnipeg’s most vulnerable people come through our doors seeking shelter, a warm meal, and clean clothing in a safe and non-judgmental environment. For the most marginalized people in Winnipeg, Main Street Project is the only place they can access life-changing services.
This holiday season, please make a donation to Main Street Project so that we may continue providing life-saving care to people like Meagan.
Best wishes for a safe and warm holiday season,
Rick Lees
Executive Director
