Graves tried to get help by going to her doctor to attend meetings, detox and 12-step groups. But at 18, she said, she started dating someone who coerced her into becoming involved in the sex trade, working in it for more than a decade.
Eventually, a social service worker found her and gave her their card. Over time, they kept finding her, telling her she could be sent somewhere for treatment. Cedars at Cobble Hill is a private in-patient treatment facility near Victoria that focuses on addiction and trauma disorder. Between 65 and 70 patients are in there at any given time. Cedars says because its program is based on individual needs, cost for treatment differs.
"There is no program like that here," Graves said about Thunder Bay. "They're not long enough and they don't go deep enough. Like they just kind of scratch the surface, and so people that don't get funding and don't have money cannot get help, and it's sad." While Graves found housing in Victoria following her aftercare, she admitted she couldn't imagine living in Thunder Bay after everything that had happened to her.
Carolyn Karle, founder and president of the DEK Foundation, stands outside Thunder Bay city hall in front of the participants of an overdose awareness walk. Karle says more addiction treatment options and better housing options for those coming out of treatment are needed. due to her mental health and addiction issues, but was unable to do so. She said that meant her daughter couldn't make her get treatment or access services.