Many walkers had signs saying who or what they were walking for, while others were just there to show support and enjoy a fun evening with the community

By Tommy Osborne

Addiction Awareness

“I was so broken”: former drug addict shares recovery story at Coldest Night of the Year walk

Feb 24, 2024 | 7:22 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The seventh annual Coldest Night of the Year walk took place this evening, which helps raise awareness and funds for the Association Advocating for Women and Community (AWAC) to continue battling against the drug addiction and overdose crisis. Part of the funds raised goes towards AWAC’s Olive Branch program, which is focused on helping addicts get clean and setting them up for success in their now sober life.

Shannon Haskell is currently 5 months into the program, and now that she’s clean and currently volunteering with AWAC she says the program changed her life.

“I just wanted to die. I was so broken. And then when I got to Olive Branch […] being there is just amazing because I am no longer all those things anymore,” Haskell said.

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Knowing first hand just how difficult it is to get out of a drug addiction, Haskell wanted to let anyone else struggling know that it’s possible, and programs like AWAC’s Olive Branch can play a huge role in getting you back on your feet.

“It is literally lifesaving. Same with the fellowship that we go to, the 12 steps that we do, any program that we do, I’ve been there for five months. So it’s literally life changing because it changed my life and my way of thinking because I don’t want to die anymore. I want to live and I want to see my kids live as well, I have seven kids on my own,” she said.

Her message to anyone struggling was that it’s possible to get out of addiction and carve a brighter future for herself, but it isn’t easy. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and willpower, but now that Haskell is on the other side she knows the work was worth it.

“I would just tell them that there is hope, like if I could do it, anyone can. I was in your shoes at one time and now I’m not because I had that chance.”

As for the CNOY’s organizer Elda Egan, she was the one to bring it to Prince George and has been organizing it for the last seven years. She also has a personal connection to addiction, as her son tragically passed away due to fentanyl poisoning in 2022. Having seen first hand the struggles of those dealing with addiction and the impact it has on families, she wanted to bring an event that would raise awareness in a fun way.

“It’s been a bit more than a year since Luke died. So I brought this here before he died and thought, okay, he’s going to be okay. But he wasn’t. He was another one that died. But it’s important to me to have that forward moving energy to be helping others,” Egan said.

“It’s just a lot of fun, too. It’s great seeing people here, having fun and enjoying themselves, and the serious side too,” she continued.

Helping solve the drug crisis can be as simple as a small donation to AWAC, or even just showing up to events like this, as raising awareness and removing the stigma around addiction can go a long way towards getting help to those who need it.

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