I started using drugs because I thought it made me more valuable to other people. When I didn\u2019t use, I was lonely and had no friends. I had no self-confidence and I kept to myself. A few people in my childhood hurt me deeply by intimidating me or by just not caring. I started using because the people I was using drugs with felt like a family, and that\u2019s what I was looking for at the time. I understood very quickly that getting high gave me an edge I didn\u2019t have otherwise. People would speak to me more. I was told I was pleasant to be around, and that\u2019s all I wanted. I was basically getting high to feel loved.<\/p>\n
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Portage held a workshop at my school. I was interested in attending, because I realized I had a drug abuse problem. The workshop, given by the Community Relations Director, really got to me, because I felt trapped in a vicious circle.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Portage held a workshop at my school. I was interested in attending, because I realized I had a drug abuse problem. The workshop, given by the Community Relations Director, really got to me, because I felt trapped in a vicious circle (read The Treacherous Pitfalls of Drugs and Alcohol<\/a>). It became obvious to me when I broke away from a very unhealthy, two-year relationship. At that time, my parents didn\u2019t even know I was using so much that I needed therapy. It\u2019s the Portage team and counsellors that helped me go through all the required steps.<\/p>\n Entering Portage was challenging. I was afraid because I lacked so much self-confidence and I expected the worst. But as soon as I got there, I was welcomed by the admissions team, who really care about our well-being. The female residents were also very welcoming. The first days were difficult, because I had trouble integrating the community. But the girls and the counsellors helped me a lot (read Counsellor at Portage: Belonging to a Therapeutic Community<\/a>)<\/u>. I received all the support I needed and realized that the other girls were there to help me.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been at Portage for five months, and I\u2019ve changed so much in such a short time. I learned that I can\u2019t please everyone so I\u2019ve started to assert myself more and be less affected by what people think. I\u2019ve worked on my self-esteem and my self-confidence. I can now go to schools to build awareness among youth, and I get involved in Portage\u2019s outings to get me out of my comfort zone. I really improved my relationship with my parents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m positive about my future. I\u2019ve rediscovered sports and it\u2019s a passion I really want to hold onto. The end of my program is fast approaching and I\u2019m thinking about attending Cegep.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m positive about my future. I\u2019ve rediscovered sports and it\u2019s a passion I really want to hold onto. The end of my program is fast approaching and I\u2019m thinking about attending Cegep (editor\u2019s note: Cegeps are general and vocational colleges in the province of Quebec). I used to be too afraid of people to even consider it. But now I\u2019m proud of who I am, and have the confidence I need to advance in life. I also know that my relationship with my parents will be healthy and trustful, thanks to the values I\u2019ve reconnected with at Portage.<\/p>\n Without Portage, I\u2019d probably still be stuck in the same vicious circle. I needed help to get out of it. I\u2019d still need to have a boyfriend, and I\u2019d still be stuck in a dangerous, destructive relationship. I\u2019d have no joie de vivre. I\u2019d probably be the unhappy girl I have been for the last six years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sarah-\u00c8ve, Resident at Portage Saint-Malachie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before Portage (How I started taking drugs\/alcohol and why) I started using drugs because I thought it made me more valuable to other people. When I didn\u2019t use, I was lonely and had no friends. I had no self-confidence and I kept to myself. A few people in my childhood hurt me deeply by… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":19618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[153,364],"tags":[175],"class_list":["post-19621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-testimonial","tag-adolescents"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44483,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19621\/revisions\/44483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What led me to call Portage or how I was referred<\/strong><\/h5>\n
My first days at Portage\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h5>\n
How long I\u2019ve been at Portage and what has changed<\/strong><\/h5>\n
![\"I](\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/oiseau-300x157.jpg\")
\nHow I see the future after completing the program<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Finally, where I think I would be without Portage<\/strong><\/h5>\n