EDITOR’S NOTE: Sarnia-Lambton is struggling with an unprecedented addiction crisis, generating plenty of news about overdoses and homelessness. But sometimes there is recovery. And it’s anticipated that new government investment in local services and facilities will bring additional relief. The award-winning team of journalist Cathy Dobson and photographer Glenn Ogilvie set out this past winter to find individuals who have experienced serious alcohol and drug addictions, and who found their own path to recovery. Below, you can find the full supplement which appeared in The Independent May 14, 2026. Watch here for further stories

Cathy Dobson/Local Journalism Initiative

Twenty counsellors in 12 years.

That’s how often Monique D’Arcy changed therapists, hoping someone could help with her deep trauma and alcohol addiction.

The Sarnia woman, now 31, entered counselling at the age of 19. Many times it wasn’t a good fit.
“Talk therapy on its own never really did it for me,” she says.

Ironically, as she became more educated – ultimately earning a Masters in Social Work – the harder it became, said D’Arcy, a social worker the past two years and previously a child protection worker.
She often sabotaged her own therapy out of a need to appear as someone with everything under control, coping well when really she wasn’t.

D’Arcy grew up in Sarnia in a low-income home, the youngest of six kids in a blended family. Her father had a disability and her mom worked for minimum wage.

She said she suffered psychological, physical and sexual abuse, starting at the age of seven. It left horrible scars that lead to drinking and self-harm in high school.

Though hurting inside, she put on a brave face. She was an outstanding teen athlete, did well in school, and was the life of the party on weekends.

“The perfectionist in me forced me to persevere through the pain. As long as I looked good on the outside, I thought I was fine,” she said.

Occasional drinking in elementary school turned into weekend bingeing in high school. By the time she was at university, D’Arcy was drinking daily, frequently to the point of blacking out.

“I was very good at covering up secrets but I started thinking about suicide around age 15,” she said. “I saw psychiatrists in my late teens and I was in and out of the hospital.

“Most people still thought I was doing well. I could hold down a job and I stayed in school.” She gestures to a row of plaques in her living room awarded for sporting excellence.

“The message here is that you truly don’t know what people are going through. Even when I was in the worst of my addiction, I would seem like I was doing well and people thought I was in recovery. So they’d be comfortable. My lies kept me sick.”

Many times, she’d attend an AA meeting or go into hospital in Sarnia or Windsor to detox for a few days, but her heart wasn’t in it. Once she did a 19-day rehab stint at Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville.

“I’d be doing it for other people,” she said. “And I think that really threw me more into my addiction because going sober for someone else creates so much shame and guilt. I had to do it for myself.”

Finally, two years ago in the aftermath of a difficult, despondent Christmas, a moment of clarity struck.

“I thought, I’m either going to die or I’m going to kill myself,” she said. “Something just felt different, genuinely different this time. I didn’t think it was my time to die. And I had a job to get back to that I truly love. And I didn’t want to hurt the people close to me.

“I’ve seen the impact of suicide and I didn’t want to put people through that.”

The AA meetings that she’d attended for years started to have more meaning.

Instead of leaving with anger and frustration, she began to make friends and appreciate the support of a 12-step program.

“I did 90 meetings in 90 days. It was sweet hell,” she said. “It was hard. The first few weeks, I needed a drink all the time but that obsession finally subsided over time.”

Her sister has always been a big support. And people came into D’Arcy’s life who she could talk to with honesty.

“For me, AA has been a tremendous support,” she said.

Finding a relatable counsellor and being introduced to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy has also given her a fresh outlook.

EMDR is based on the premise that eye movements can reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts. It’s recognized by the World Health Organization as effective for PTSD and relieves symptoms such as anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

“EMDR takes the emotional charge out of my memories,” said D’Arcy. “I’m also learning things like yoga, deep breathing and guided meditation to help me calm my nervous system.

“I’m taking care of myself now.”

In the early days of D’Arcy’s sobriety, she detoxed at Bluewater Health. She’d been to the hospital’s withdrawal management unit numerous times before but always relapsed. This time, she stayed sober.
“I just got genuinely tired of it,” she said. Her last drink was Jan. 25, 2024.

D’Arcy also spent time at The Residence at Homewood in Guelph where she worked on the underlying causes of her addiction.

“It was two months being forced to look inward and focus on myself,” she said. “In the past, I’ve been so committed to not impacting others, to not taking time off – I used to go to detox during Christmas vacation so I wouldn’t miss work.”

So what’s different now?

“I’ve finally come to terms that this is my life,” she said. “It shouldn’t be taboo to talk about it. In fact, I want to talk about it. It’s my story and telling it keeps me true to myself.

“I’m like an open book…and I have to be honest even if it, unfortunately, upsets other people. That’s what’s kept me sober this time around.”

Being completely honest and having difficult conversations lead to the most growth, she said. “And that’s where I’m at. If we don’t talk about the crappy parts of life, they just stew.”

D’Arcy looks back on the many years she spent deceiving herself and others about the severity of her addiction. She thinks about all the times she would drink in the washroom during a party so no one knew how much she consumed. She thinks about how feeling “like garbage” felt normal. She doesn’t want that life anymore.

“I’m finally taking care of myself, exercising and reading a lot, volunteering and getting involved in theatre,” she said. “I am finally okay with taking things one day at a time.”

Where to find help

• Alcoholics Anonymous – 519-337-5211 www.aasarnialambton.com
• Narcotics Anonymous – 1-800-573-0920 www.orscna.org
• Canadian Mental Health Lambton Kent – 519-337-5411 www.lambtonkent.cmha.ca
• 24/7 Canadian Mental Health Crisis Line – 519-336-3445 or 1-800-307-4319
• Drug Addiction Hotline – 1-800-721-3232
• Distress Line (Family Counselling Centre) – 519-336-3000
• Bluewater Health Community Addiction Support – outpatient and walk-in services, crisis intervention, counselling, treatment referrals, for people in Sarnia-Lambton who struggle with substance abuse. Phone 519-332-4673 or email possible@bluewaterhealth.ca. Location: Bluewater Health, Level 6, Russell Building, 89 Norman St. Sarnia.
• Bluewater Health Acute Withdrawal Management – includes inpatient, 7-bed unit for detox for three – five days. Self referral. Counselling. 24/7 519-464-4487
• Bluewater Health Ryan’s House Stabilization Facility, a second-stage withdrawal management facility. Offers 12 beds for men and women over 16 to stay up to one month for early recovery following detox. 306 Exmouth St. Sarnia.
• HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hub – recently opened in Sarnia. Two locations. 30-bed residential facility (up to 18 months) considered the third stage for recovery in Sarnia-Lambton, following detox and Ryan’s House. 275 Wellington St. (formerly SCITS high school).
• HART Hub drop-in at 210 Lochiel St. offers recovery support services, showers, laundry, a kitchen, health care referrals, help finding housing, employment, and mental health supports.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline – 9-8-8 (call or text)
• Community Health Integrated Care (CHIC Team) Daily, on-scene interventions, rapid response, withdrawal management.
• MobileCare – Community Health Outreach. Travels across urban and rural S-L with free, walk in services. No appointment required. Primary care, mental health care, addictions services, withdrawal management services and referrals. 1-866-299-7447. www.sl.mobilecareclinic.ca.
• Bluewater Methadone Clinic S-L at 118 Victoria St. in Sarnia. 519-337-5000.
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point Health Services for mental health and addictions at 6275 Indian Lane, Lambton Shores. 519-786-5647.
• Youth Wellness Hub – 190 Front St. for ages 12 – 25 and their families. Crisis/Walk in support, case management, psychotherapy, peer support, addiction services, nurse practitioner, drop in activity groups, fitness activities, family support, housing support and vocational services. 519-491-1466
• Redpath (Inn of the Good Shepherd on John St. Sarnia) Addictions treatment using an Indigenous specific model. Clinical and cultural approaches in a group setting. Call 519-344-1746 ext. 338.
• Lambton College personal and mental health counselling – available free to all full and part-time students.

Regional longer term residential rehab facilities:

• Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville, call 1-800-721-3232;
• Renascent Addiction Centre in Toronto, call 1-866-232-1212;
• Residence at Homewood and Health Centre in Guelph, call 1-438-258-5460;
• Brentwood Recovery House in Windsor, call 519-253-2441;
• Hope Place in Milton, call 905-878-1120.