N.B. youth rehab graduation celebrates the hard work of becoming drug-free
Portage Atlantic is a youth drug rehabilitation centre near Sussex
Cheers of joy erupt through the crowd as Regan Morningstar's name is announced.
She walks up to the stage, shakes hands with the presenter and beams as she holds up her diploma.
But this is not a high school graduation, and the crowd of 300 is not in a school gymnasium.
They are at Portage Atlantic, a youth drug rehabilitation centre tucked among the woods near Sussex, on the shore of Cassidy Lake.
"Portage definitely saved my life," said Morningstar, 20, as she took the microphone to address the crowd.
"I came in here as the shell of the person I am now."
Portage is a national non-profit organization that helps young people suffering from drug addiction.
At Cassidy Lake, youth between the ages of 14 and 21 come to stay for a four- to six-month, peer-led rehab program.
Sunday's ceremony celebrated 11 current graduates of the program, and 26 recent grads, marking one year of drug-free living.
Morningstar said she started using marijuana at the age of 14, which spiraled into other issues. She was supposed to go to Portage in 2019, but then put it off.
"You don't get an ounce of alone time and it can be a lot, but it's also the best thing that someone can go through when they're in this place," Morningstar said in an interview following Sunday's event.
She said living so closely with others and having no access to cell phones or social media was a tough adjustment. Being in "the middle of nowhere" and not knowing how to get home didn't help either, she said, jokingly.
In fact, the first weeks were very hard. She said she cried everyday and begged to leave, but eventually she found her place.
"They are my second family. Portage was the first place I ever felt like I belonged in my life. I love all the staff to pieces," she said.
Morningstar said during her time in the program, she's learned to stand up for herself.
"I used to compromise myself and my morals to fit in and be seen by other people, and now I'm realizing I don't need that," she said.
Many of the counsellors they work with have experienced drug addiction and recovery themselves.
"Personally, I would not have been able to do it without hearing those stories," said Morningstar.
New coping skills
Tambrie Hicks, the facility director at Portage Atlantic, said the centre helps youth with addictions to many different substances, including opiates and crystal meth.
But Hicks said Portage focuses more on the whole picture to understand someone's behaviour behind their drug use.
"They learn about themselves and they learn coping skills, not only to help with their addiction but with mental health issues, anxiety and depression," Hicks said.
In her time working at Portage, she said she's seen addiction break apart families and impact both the rich and the poor.
"There's no boundaries for addiction," Hicks said.
"You never know what another person has lived through … I think as humans we need to get to walk in each other's shoes more."
Father shares emotional story
Portage holds this recognition-day ceremony every year, and the festivities include a speech from a parent of someone who's recovered from addiction.
"If I do end up crying here today, the tears will be much different from when I first brought my son here to Portage," said Mark Splude as he began his speech.
"If I cry today it will be tears of joy, tears of hope."
He spoke about how his son came to Portage twice and is now drug-free and is going to school to become an addictions councillor himself.
"So it's a success story, right?" Splude said.
"But I still remember what it was like to bring him here a second time. I remember the emotions of dropping him off here. The shame, the pain, the guilt. The utter despair."
I'm so proud of you. I love you son, congratulations.- Mark Splude
He thanked his fellow parents in the audience for their support, as well as the counsellors who mentored his son.
"I cannot thank you enough for being a role model that I couldn't be at that time for my son," Splude said as he choked up.
At the end of the emotional speech, he turned to his son in the audience.
"The way you picked yourself up and dusted yourself off, the work you've done and continue to do," Splude said with tears in his eyes as the crowd leapt to their feet. "I'm so proud of you. I love you son, congratulations."
Mark Splude walked off the stage and into the crowd, embracing his son in a hug as the applause continued on.
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