Willamena (Willi) McCorriston, Candidate Regional Director, SK

Willamena (Willi) McCorriston, Kindersley Saskatchewan.  As the mother of a daughter who became justice-involved because of her substance use disorder, Willi quickly became educated on the devastating outcomes of the War on Drugs. It was a miracle of sorts that she found Moms Stop the Harm, and the understanding that the other moms were there to provide, even if their story was very different. Willi’s daughter is alive and in recovery, although she acknowledges it could easily have been a different outcome.

The devastating effects of a substance use disorder on its victim and family are a common thread for too many of us. Willi and her daughter's failed efforts to secure support and help were further exacerbated by federal and provincial court and prison systems that through dehumanization increasingly marginalized them and deepened the wounds already delivered by the disease of addiction.

The story Willi tells is the lack of understanding and empathy the courts have of substance use disorder (a health condition) and its relationship with criminal activity. Even in her daughter's recovery, the court systems paid little attention to her efforts to be a contributing community member and demanded retribution. While her daughter was incarcerated, Willi had to fight from the outside to ensure that even basic promises the provincial and federal justice system claims to supply, were met. It became apparent to Willi that the prison system's model of rehabilitation is fraught with punitive policies that do little to support persons with mental health and or substance related disorders.

Willi hopes in sharing her story and using her lived experience she can lend a perspective for Moms Stop the Harm family members dealing with similar circumstances. Criminalization is a very isolating experience, and no mother should have to stand alone in a time of such a misunderstood and painful experience.