'That tiny bit of hope, it goes a long way': Peer support program aims to help Lethbridge's most vulnerable
Melissa Many Fingers-Healy and Cody Fox have spent a large portion of their lives struggling with addiction.
They've both spent time living on the streets while struggling with alcohol and drugs.
Many Fingers-Healy said that at one point, she was certain she wasn't going to make it.
"I didn't think I'd live to see five years, I didn't even think I'd live to see another year," she told CTV.
"My family told me that they did, at one point, get themselves ready for my passing because they thought I was going to die on the streets."
Fox said there were times where he was ready to give up altogether, especially following the deaths of his father, brother and cousin.
"I could've gave up. I could've said what's the point of me not being here too, you know?"
Fortunately, thanks to Alvin Mills, founder of the Kii Maa Pii Pii Tsin Renewal and Healing Centre, they were able to get the help they needed through the Kainai Wellness and Detox Centre.
According to Mills, Kii maa pii pii tsin is a Blackfoot word that he holds very dear to his heart.
"When you translate it, it means kindness to others, caring for others," said Mills.
"Kii maa pii pii tsin is a way of life for the Blackfoot people."
Mills has been helping people get clean and off the streets for years and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.
"It's always been our mandate to support and advocate for the at-risk and vulnerable population here in Lethbridge."
PEER SUPPORT
Now that they're clean, Fox and Many Fingers-Healy are helping Mills in the fight against drugs and homelessness by becoming peer support workers themselves.
Alvin Mills, Melissa Many Fingers-Healy, Cody Fox
They believe that if they can come back from where they were, anybody can.
"I'm thankful and grateful to be able to tell my story," said Fox.
"I'm hoping people will be able to realize that you can put that bottle down, put that pill down, put that pipe down. There's a life out there and you don't have to do that."
They also believe that the biggest way to get through to those struggling is by offering them just a little bit of hope.
"I'm just trying to give people hope because that's that one thing that everybody lacks, is that tiny bit of hope," said Many Fingers-Healy.
"That tiny bit of hope, it goes a long way. It really does."
Mills, his amazing peer support mentors and others with the Kii Maa Pii Pii Tsin Renewal and Healing Centre will be out most weekends handing out food and drink while spreading their messages of hope, determination and perseverance to those in need.
When asked, Mills said he couldn't have gotten two more inspiring people to help him help others.
"What they went through, you can't learn that," he said.
"You can't get a degree from what they went through. Their degree is from life itself."
To find out how you can help Mills and his peer support program, you can contact the Blackfoot Lodge in Lethbridge.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.