For 20 years, Portage has been helping young mothers battling drug addiction as they meet challenges head-on.
Kasandra Ardelli is one of those mothers. Five years ago, she arrived at the centre with her six-month-old twins.
“I was a hot mess,” she said. “I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know anything. All I did was drink… I would have my bottle in my diaper bag, I would push my stroller around, my hair was done, but no one knew the nighttime Kasandra.”
Those were tough times for Ardelli, whose hangovers eventually became too much to manage.
It was also a transformative time, as Portage’s Mother & Child program became her lifeline.
“It’s a place that saved my life. It’s a place that showed me how to become a mother,” she said. “I couldn't ask for a better place to be.”
Ardelli is just one of about 1,400 of the program's success stories, helping women beat their addiction while learning how to be a parent.
It’s a voluntary six-to-eight month rehab program, and the only one in Quebec that allows mothers to bring their children.
“The biggest challenge is to rebuild the relationship with the child. Because of addiction, there's a distance that's been created and they need to get to know their kids again, just to be with the kid, play with the kid,” said Patrick Vain, chief of services.
It's that bond that helps women stay sober once they're back in the real world, he said.
Ardelli agrees, saying her children keep her sober.
“They're never going to see that side of me and never going to remember that side of me,” she said.
