Teens

Keegan S.

Keegan had a happy and free childhood. When his little brother Andreas was born in 2002 he considers it as being the happiest moment in his life; he was so excited to be an older brother. Keegan first used marijuana in grade seven and started drinking in grade eight. His using progressed and by the time he was halfway through grade ten he began to use ecstasy and was drinking almost every weekend.   He was using drugs daily, had given up on school and his relationship with his family was in ruins.  On April 21, 2010 he was admitted into AARC. He started to work the steps of the program and slowly began to feel like he was getting his life back on track.  He had a strong desire to become a better person. Today Keegan feels good about himself and he knows that he doesn’t have to go back to drugs or drinking. He has regained a relationship with his family and he is finishing school and pursuing a career in acting. “I have so much in my life today and I am so thankful for being given a second chance.”

Graduated 2010

Trayce S.

Trayce was a very happy and engaging child.  He was always very close to his family and brought great pleasure to everyone with his positive, joyful demeanor.  In grade seven, Trayce began to exhibit unusual behavior and by the time he was sixteen, Trayce had no life and felt completely lost.  He was dark, lethargic, uncaring and self-seeking.  Trayce entered treatment at AARC on September 7, 2010.  Drugs were all he had in his possession when he entered  treatment.  He was very lonely and he was in denial about his drug use. It was extremely painful for him to do the work he needed to do to get better but once he looked honestly at his life, he was able to find a solution and it was worth it. Today he is very happy and would never have reached this point in his life without AARC.  Trayce is attending school and he has his own band.  “I am surrounded by amazing people every day and I am by my family’s side again. I look forward to life now, which I never thought would happen. It’s funny how that works. Thank you AARC.  You’ve given me everything.”

Graduated 2011

Kate B.

Before AARC my life was a mess. I gave up my self-esteem, soccer, art, music, my family and most importantly my life to drugs and alcohol. I felt I had nothing to live for and by the time I was fifteen I believed I was not going to live another year. When I used drugs and alcohol, I felt freedom from my own thoughts and feelings. AARC gave me a solution. It gave me a life where I could be content, happy and free without a mind-altering substance. My life is reinventing itself everyday with more positive outcomes and I am almost two years sober. I don't need to live in active addiction anymore; I have a choice, and I choose to be sober today. I am back in school, have some good friends in my life, and I am able to be an honest person. I have an awesome relationship with my family and my life is better than I ever dreamed. My life has been saved by AARC; for that I am grateful.

Carly W.

By the age of sixteen I was drinking or using drugs daily, and I was using alone. I thought that drugs and alcohol were my solution, but I was suicidal and had lost interest in sports, music and school. I was abusive to my sister, distant from my parents, and had lost all of my friendships. I was living a dishonest, druggie lifestyle and the only thing that mattered to me was to get high. During the winter of 2007 I knew that I couldn’t stop and decided that I needed help. My parents decided to put me in AARC. After doing the program and steps I felt free and excited about life. Today, I am succeeding in university and work, and have many wonderful relationships back. I try to live life to the fullest today and I know there is a solution. I am very grateful for the opportunity of recovery that AARC has given me.

Marc M.

Before entering AARC I was focused only on using drugs and nothing else.   The only thing I cared about was using drugs and how to get them.  I used and manipulated everyone and everything to keep using.  When I entered AARC I was very angry and I had no hope for turning my life around.  I tried to get out as soon as possible, but since all the staff are graduates themselves, they knew what I was thinking and doing and they helped me to feel hope that I could have a better life without drugs and alcohol.  Going through AARC has given me my life back: it gave me the opportunity to feel again and to feel for others.  I am very grateful as it is a miracle for me to be alive today and to be so happy.  I love life now, I love my mom and family and I don’t feel a desire to use any more.  I find that life still has it struggles but it is so much better to be able to live life without a drug or a drink to control me.