COMING CLEAN A LIFELONG JOURNEY FOR MOST DRUG ADDICTS

(The third installment of a four-part series focusing on drug use).

Addiction And Rehab Has Become A Part Of Pop Culture.

It seems like there's another name in the news everyday.

But behind the headlines are real-life stories of real people who
recover from their addictions to lead clean, productive lives.

One example is Jean Pierre, who works as a respected drug rehab
counselor with Migisi Treatment Centre.

But 19 years ago, it was a different story.

Back in 1985 he was living in Thunder Bay where his life was a haze of
drugs and alcohol.

Whether it was sniffing solvents, smoking marijuana or drinking
alcohol, they were all failed attempts to forget recurring nightmares.

For Pierre, the emptiness of drug abuse led to a suicide
attempt.

Once recovered from his injuries, he was determined to get cleaned
up.

After isolating himself from the others who had been a part of his
drug use, he consulted with elders in the community. With their
guidance, he grew from an angry young man prone to random acts of
violence, into a quiet, respectful and productive member of the community.

After four years of sobriety, he started to help others with their
struggles.

At first it was street people, then programs for inmates in Kingston.
Along the way, Pierre also assisted with recovery programs in South
Dakota and Iowa, before returning to northwestern Ontario.

His life experience, along with college education, has made him an
asset to the staff at Migisi, where he now works one-on-one with residents.

"We're teaching them over again about value systems," he
said.

Pierre has also worked at the Creighton Youth Centre in Thunder Bay,
where he identified with the many stories he heard of sexual and
physical abuse, as well as families that still carried with them the
legacy of residential schools. First Nation descendants also face
social factors, such as the poverty, unemployment and associated
family troubles.

For many the cycle of sex, drugs and alcohol leads to abuse or
neglect, along with emotions of grief or loss.

"They're not being taught, or not learning, the value of life," he
said.

He says a holistic approach that goes to the roots of the person and
their issues is much more complicated, but eventually much more
successful than any simple prescription.

"We help find the spirit within ourselves that has been lost through
drugs and alcohol," he said between sessions at Migisi.

The residential treatment centre at Wauzhushk Onigum, formerly Rat
Portage, helps about 400 patients a year. They are mainly Aboriginal
people, but non-Aboriginal residents are also welcome to apply.

Traditional ways, such as the use of the sweat lodge, the drum and
sacred herbs help provide residents with a positive sense of identity,
not to mention a positive view of their culture.

There are additional obstacles on the road to recovery these days.
Migisi's executive director, Irene Lavand, says most of the residents
are dealing with alcohol dependencies, but they do deal with harder
drugs, which are making their way into the area.

In the 1970s, she says heroin, LSD, speed and mushrooms were common.
These days, staff are starting to see cocaine, speed and a new drug
called oxies, which is a prescription painkiller.

Lavand acknowledges that they are stronger, more addictive and harder
to treat, which means they require much more than a simple 28-day
residential treatment program. In many cases, she notes, it can take
six months of being clean, before the person can start to deal with
skills associated with everyday life.

Irene Bergman has been an addictions counselor in Kenora for more than
20 years. In that time, she has seen a significant change in drug-use
patterns. Where it used to be just the downtrodden, her clients can
now include star varsity athletes and respectable businessmen, whose
recreational use simply got out of hand.

Bergman says it isn't uncommon for her to see parents in crisis, after
investing tens of thousands of dollars in treatment programs for local
children hooked on hard drugs. When they face the loss of their home
or their business, it triggers a call for help, she says.

"It's not getting any better," Bergman adds.