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Help Fay Smile Again
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Hi, my name is Fay Munro. I am a person with substance use disorder (crystal meth) and have been in recovery for the past 9 months. I also have a traumatic brain injury due to a motor vehicle accident. I have two daughters that I love with all my heart, Arianna (10 years old) and Onyx (9 months old).
I was a full-time mother and university student with a promising and bright future. I lost my older child, my home, my vehicle and lastly, my family. I used drugs every single day up until I moved into a program called Raising Hope on January 6th, 2020. I was pregnant, very deep into my disease of addiction, homeless, hopeless and near death. The Street Workers Advocacy Project (SWAP) operates Raising Hope in Regina, Sask. Canada. It is a non-profit charitable community based organization; government funded; that provides housing and support to vulnerable and at-risk women and children.
I surrendered to my disease of addiction. I needed to break that toxic cycle otherwise I knew that I would lose my new baby and likely end up dying alone if I didn’t get the help I needed. The program was initially successful in providing the resources and supports needed for me in early recovery. When the entire leadership team quit in the summer, 2020, the program changed drastically. There was a massive shift from trauma-informed approaches that encouraged choice, collaboration and connection to a punitive, institutional, rules-based structure where hierarchy and intimidation became the norm. Empathy and compassion were replaced with shaming and judgement. The Executive Director and management employees of Raising Hope treat residents like inmates or children rather than people with substance use disorder who need encouraging words and support. The program is causing much harm to the residents. This has been so damaging to my self-esteem and recovery journey.
I have no outside supports or family members and rely on Raising Hope to provide that for me until I can provide it for myself. Two weeks ago I was given a verbal eviction notice to vacate by December 31st in retaliation for me finally using my voice and speaking-out against the injustices that have been happening in the program over the past 5 months. I am not ready to leave the program as I still have much work to do on my mental and emotional stability and recovery. I have a letter from both my doctor and my addictions counsellor saying that I continue to require a supportive living environment. Raising Hope is further punishing and shaming me by withdrawing supports. They will no longer provide any transports for my baby daughter to go to and from her daycare program; Monday - Friday. I must now pay for transportation with money I do not have. I am left with nothing to buy groceries and basic necessities. My baby daughter and I are facing the possibility of being homeless, or at least being forced to move to a place without the supports and stability I so desperately need right now. All this upheaval during the middle of a massive pandemic and in the middle of winter.
This will be the first Christmas that I will have both of my daughters, together, as a family. I only want to be able to pay for my baby daughter’s safe transport to and from daycare and buy some food. Any help would be so appreciated.
I was a full-time mother and university student with a promising and bright future. I lost my older child, my home, my vehicle and lastly, my family. I used drugs every single day up until I moved into a program called Raising Hope on January 6th, 2020. I was pregnant, very deep into my disease of addiction, homeless, hopeless and near death. The Street Workers Advocacy Project (SWAP) operates Raising Hope in Regina, Sask. Canada. It is a non-profit charitable community based organization; government funded; that provides housing and support to vulnerable and at-risk women and children.
I surrendered to my disease of addiction. I needed to break that toxic cycle otherwise I knew that I would lose my new baby and likely end up dying alone if I didn’t get the help I needed. The program was initially successful in providing the resources and supports needed for me in early recovery. When the entire leadership team quit in the summer, 2020, the program changed drastically. There was a massive shift from trauma-informed approaches that encouraged choice, collaboration and connection to a punitive, institutional, rules-based structure where hierarchy and intimidation became the norm. Empathy and compassion were replaced with shaming and judgement. The Executive Director and management employees of Raising Hope treat residents like inmates or children rather than people with substance use disorder who need encouraging words and support. The program is causing much harm to the residents. This has been so damaging to my self-esteem and recovery journey.
I have no outside supports or family members and rely on Raising Hope to provide that for me until I can provide it for myself. Two weeks ago I was given a verbal eviction notice to vacate by December 31st in retaliation for me finally using my voice and speaking-out against the injustices that have been happening in the program over the past 5 months. I am not ready to leave the program as I still have much work to do on my mental and emotional stability and recovery. I have a letter from both my doctor and my addictions counsellor saying that I continue to require a supportive living environment. Raising Hope is further punishing and shaming me by withdrawing supports. They will no longer provide any transports for my baby daughter to go to and from her daycare program; Monday - Friday. I must now pay for transportation with money I do not have. I am left with nothing to buy groceries and basic necessities. My baby daughter and I are facing the possibility of being homeless, or at least being forced to move to a place without the supports and stability I so desperately need right now. All this upheaval during the middle of a massive pandemic and in the middle of winter.
This will be the first Christmas that I will have both of my daughters, together, as a family. I only want to be able to pay for my baby daughter’s safe transport to and from daycare and buy some food. Any help would be so appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cindy Oberthier
Organizer
Regina, SK
Fay Marie Munro
Beneficiary