Her mother, who has used ice, speed, morphine and heroin, continues to fight her addiction.

Subsequently, being brought into a life of substance abuse and domestic violence, saw Sophie fall down the same path.

She said ice (meth-amphetamine), the worst of the drugs, was here on the Coast.

Currently clean, Sophie wants other drug battlers to come forward and speak out.

Sophie said proper drug rehabilitation facilities were lacking on the Coast.

She said the Missiondale Recovery Centre at Evandale was the closest place for drug users to get proper help.

"There needs to be something like Missiondale up here," she said.

Sophie said her mother wanted to go to Missiondale, but she did not want to go until after Christmas because she did not want to spend her time alone. That prevented her from getting help.

"If there was somewhere on the North-West Coast she could go she would probably be there."

Sophie also said there needed to be a greater awareness of support services on the Coast.

She said places like City Mission's Serenity House at Sulphur Creek and The Salvation Army bridge program needed greater emphasis.

"It needs to be out there more," she said.

"Like they say, they are doing all these things on drugs on the North-West Coast, but why not put the facilities and the programs out there?

"Schools even need to take more notice of children."

To escape the life of drugs Sophie's family moved from the mainland to Circular Head when she was 12.

There Sophie's mother turned to alcohol to alleviate the drugs. Sophie soon fell victim to the lifestyle.

She watched as her mother was abused by various partners, and she too turned to alcohol. Then at age 25 she started using speed.

"It's a cycle, it makes you feel good, as with any addiction," she said.

"Then there comes the come down, which emphasises all your problems. Then comes a time you want to use again.

"You need to find other ways of feeling good."

A way of feeling good for Sophie is writing and poetry.

She showed The Advocate her written notes yesterday.

"It makes me feel lighter," she said. "It's a sense of relief that it's out on paper."

Having overcome her addiction Sophie wants to help others on the Coast.

"I want to help people find their voice," she said.

"My future is a lot clearer.

"I know what I have to do for me and I know what I have to do for others.

"I want to help people suffering in silence help themselves."

Sophie wants the public to understand rather than judge those drug users who decide to tell their story.

"To judge is going to prevent someone from coming forward," she said.

"For these people who do come forward it takes so much strength and so much courage."

* The name Sophie has been used to protect the woman's identity.

Source: The Advocate