From left to right: Gen Carolan, Amber Hanson and Ryan Oscar share their journey to sobriety hoping to helps others (photo courtesy Ross Lavinge)

By Teagan Rasche

National Addiction Awareness Week 2021

Hatters share addiction recovery stories hoping to help others

Nov 23, 2021 | 4:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Amber Hanson’s addiction started before she was even a teenager.

She drank to fit in. It was the social norm and her mother was also an addict.

“You kind of run through the fear, you’re living in a state of chaos, you’re not really sure what’s normal and what’s not normal so you have a tendency to run into the same patterns and behaviours,” Hanson said.

But in her early 20s, she willed herself into recovery without any professional treatment. It worked for Hanson, but it’s not something she recommends.

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“If you’re not part of a program, you kinda miss certain steps along the way so I feel like you’re kind of run uphill towards recovery versus if you were part of a 12-step program or go to meetings, get a sponsor you would probably have a lot more success a lot quicker,” Hanson said.

The road to sobriety had its stumbles.

But Hanson found her community in September with Our Collective Journey, a local non-profit that helps connect people through the power of shared experiences.

Director of programming Ryan Oscar was an addict himself.

“I drank until I was 35, right until I was 40 years old but I found hard drugs. I found cocaine at 35 and it only took about five years to burn my life to the ground using that,” Oscar said. “It escalated really quickly and took me to suicide, two different suicide attempts.”

He says talking about addiction, mental health and suicidal ideations helps chip away at the stigma.

“We are not counsellors, we are different than 12-step groups that are in the community,” Oscar said. “We are different than all those things because that’s not what we do. We help people get to those places.”

This week, being National Addictions Awareness Week, Our Collective Journey has lit the Saamis Tepee up in its colours, green and blue.

Oscar has also started a Recovery Coach Program, something he and Hanson will both be helping with.

“It’s not counselling, it’s not therapy. It’s not all those things,” Oscar said. “We have our own lane we try and stay in and it’s just to actively connect with people and find that hope and motivate them.”

All week, their podcast, From Darkness to Life will feature a three-part recovery series. One of those guests is Gen Carolan.

“I really came to a point in my life where I just wanted to break the cycle and I just didn’t want to live in the dark anymore and active addiction can be a really, really dark place to be in,” Carolan said.

She grew up in an addiction-filled home and has now spent the last 10 years being in and out of recovery. The last decade has included taking steps forward and backward on the way to sobriety.

“My worse day in recovery is worth every bad day in addiction,” Carolan said.

Sharing such vulnerable stories took a lot of courage for Carolan, Hanson and Oscar. But by talking about their lived experiences, they hope it helps others know they aren’t alone.

“Ask somebody for help, if you don’t know where to go, just ask,” Hanson said.

Resources and the podcast can be found on Our Collective Journey’s website here.