sharing our experiences

Amy's Story

I am a 31 year old woman. I am slowly getting my life back together and I have also been off drugs for two months now. My story begins like this.

As a child, I was in foster homes and in and out of different schools because after being in one foster home for 6 months they move you so you don't get too attached. I was in so many different schools I lost count, in many different cities, across Saskatchewan and Alberta. Anyways, when I turned 15, I finally found myself in a good foster home where my foster parents really cared. I started school once again and was doing really well and then we had a dance for all the students. One boy kept asking me to dance and I did, not knowing that he had just broken up with his girlfriend. The following Monday this girlfriend confronted me. An argument started which continued into a physical confrontation. She got me mad when she called me a black squaw and I hit her back so hard she fell. That's when her two friends jumped me from the back. I was called to the office and told my side. The principal didn't believe me and I was suspended; I felt like I was suspended for being native. I was mad and honestly thought all teachers and principals were prejudiced so therefore I decided to quit school and give up.

I left my good foster home and went on my own. I began my street life. But over the years I became dependent on drugs and was consistently in and out of jail. In my last incarceration, I decided to straighten out my life. I studied for my GED 12 and when I got out signed up for my GED tests. I passed all my subjects except math because I know nothing about the metric system. But I am not a quitter. My goal is to get my academic 12 and study to be a drug addiction counsellor which takes 4 years of school. Right now I am trying to straighten out my life. In fact, I've been more or less straight but relapsed and got drunk and ended up getting 30 days for willful damage. However, I am not a quitter. Now I believe it's never too late and a person needs an education to get anywhere.