Kat’s Story

When Kat was eight years old, she and her family moved from Ukraine to Canada. Navigating a new country with a different culture was a challenging time for Kat. She began to use substances at age 13 and spent much of her adolescence in and out of rehab, jail and living on the streets.

“When you’re in a completely new place, that’s pretty scary and isolating,” Kat says. “And when people see you in a different way and already pass judgment on you, it just piles on to that even more.”

Kat entered treatment three years ago and she started looking for resources that would help her move forward. Her roommate spoke highly of a therapist she was seeing at Trellis. Kat had never done therapy outside of treatment, but she decided to give it a try.

After connecting with a Trellis therapist who was a good fit for her, Kat began the process of healing. Therapy gave Kat the space and tools to cope with her experiences of trauma and anxiety, which in turn opened the door for her recovery.

“Every time I tried to get sober in the past, I had never done therapy or gotten help through a resource. Having a professional to talk to has really helped me bring things to the surface, recognize my old patterns and learn how to grow from that,” Kat says. “I felt like this was the missing piece.”

In addition to therapy, Kat found significant support through Trellis’ housing programs. Kat says that while she was trying to get sober, the environment at home often contributed to her cycle of addiction and relapse. She worked with our housing team to find a stable place to live and also received support for subsidizing her rent.

Now 25 years old, Kat is excelling as a full-time student studying social work and addiction studies. Looking toward the future, her dream is to become a counsellor and help people who are in the place she was at three years ago.

“I’m just excited to really live my life and build a home for myself,” Kat says. “I’m able to do so many things that I could never do before, and that makes recovery worth it.”