“He was clean when I met him. He’d drink and use drugs a bit,...

“He was clean when I met him. He’d drink and use drugs a bit, but only when he partied. But he’s not strong like me. He tried heroin and he liked the feeling. And he couldn’t stop. It’s not that he’s a bad person. He has a soft heart. He smiles a lot. But he has a demon to fight and I already tried my best to help him. I tried to move him from the area. I tried to get him into rehab. I took him to parenting courses and counseling. Things got better for about six weeks. He was acting positive and he was there every day. Even if we got in a fight, he’d stick around and work things out. But then he started disappearing again. He started getting angry and violent. Then he’d come back on drugs and act like everything was fine. And I wasn’t going to allow it. You can’t just do anything you want and come home to my children. I hate being a single mom. It’s lonely. I hate that I’m playing into an Aboriginal stereotype. But ultimately my dedication is to my kids. I haven’t cut him off completely, but now he’s on his own. He’s got to figure it out himself. He can’t visit my kids until he’s 100 percent.”

(Sydney, Australia)