Hi,

As we all know addiction and homelessness is a major issue for the City of Winnipeg.  I havn't told many people about my story but I think it's time. 

My family has personally been affected by addiction with our daughter Mackenzie for over 10 years now.  It started at one low point in her life and she made a bad decision which lead to her losing her at the time 18 month old son and ultimately most of her immediate family.  My daughter went from snorting Methamphetamine to injecting it within 13 days which is almost unheard of because the transition was so fast. 

I personally have been trying to help her for over 10 years with very little success.  I've taken her to rehab locations here in Manitoba and Alberta, I have had the police involved and went to multiple court cases to speak with the judge and the defence attorney on my family's behalf.  There have been times when I have picked her up and driven for over 25 hours trying to get her sobered up enough to agree to go into detox only to have her leave an hour after being admitted.  She has made heartbreaking choices in her life and as her parent it is extremely difficult to watch her live the lifestyle she is.  The feeling of utter dispair, that "my hands are tied" and not being able to get immediate help from hospitals, police service, addiction centers is extremely frustrating.  This is not the fault of any of these organizations or safety services but there needs to be a change to the drug legislation.

My hope is for legislation changes that would allow the police to apprehend or courts to order apprehension for people battling with addiction and place them in a center for at least 3 months, which is the average time it takes to clear Methamphetamnine out of a persons system.  This detainment will hopefully allow the addict is able to sober up and make a clear minded decision for treatment without being held under the power of the drug and it's mental manipulation.

Addiction just doesn't harm the addict.  It sends a huge ripple through the entire family.  The many sleepless nights filled with worry and always wondering, not IF but WHEN, there will be that knock on our door in the middle of the night with the worst news any parent would ever want to hear.  

I hope me sharing my personal story will help bring awareness to how easily drugs, particularily Meth, can destroy an entire life in a matter of a couple of days.  Life is a gift and many lives are being taken away by addiction.  The addict can be from any walk of life, it is not just a certain class of society, race or anything else.  Most addicts have underlaying mental illness that drives them to the drug use to numb the pain they feel.