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Jay Fewkes of Baden
Young man overcomes his addictions, now showcases his mistakes as powerful anti-drug messages to youth everywhere
Jay Fewkes adored his older sister and at 13 even smoked his first marijuana joint with her because he thought it would make
him look cool. A year later when his sister and cousin were struck and killed by a train, Jay was so devastated he had to
be hospitalized for thoughts of suicide. With his depression untreated, Jay moved away from marijuana and began experimenting
with harder drugs.
He developed an addiction to crystal meth that lasted two and a half years, and then began to use heroin daily. One night
at the age of 23, he climbed behind the wheel of his van, flipped his car three times and almost killed himself. Now 26,
he says that that accident was “the changing point in my life.”
Jay decided to leave behind his “friends,” who were involved with drugs, drastically reduced high-risk social events, began
group therapy, attended individual counseling, and returned to work as a carpenter. Clean and sober, Jay now shares his story
to try to make a difference. He speaks at the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s annual “Racing Against Drugs” program, works
on two committees at ‘Ray of Hope’ that are working to develop an addiction recovery program in Waterloo and, at regional
Optimist Clubs, Jay speaks about how he overcame his addiction to crystal meth.
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Centre for Addiction
