“It really does get better, and it takes time and patience so you’ve got to be patient with yourself. You’ve got to be kind with yourself when you're moving forward in your life. It's going to take some time sometimes, but it will get better.” That’s the message of hope that harm reduction advocate Neebiish Mianscum wants to share with Indigenous youth because she knows firsthand that it’s true.

She grew up in Sudbury and in Sioux Lookout, where she lives currently. Mianscum is registered Wiikwemkoong First Nation on her mom’s side and her dad comes from Mistissini First Nation and Moose Factory. Focused strongly on her sobriety, she’s spending a lot of time journaling and in therapy. In the coming years, she hopes to return to work and creativity, drawing and writing.

When she first started working it was at Tim Horton’s at 18, then at a grocery store. Later, Mianscum worked at an entry-level job at Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority as a harm reduction worker. From there, she was able to progress into an Indigenous youth outreach work with Directions Youth Services out of Vancouver. Her career path is one based on harm reduction and she’s enjoyed her work placements immensely. It’s work she’s found meaningful and fulfilling.

Mianscum got started on the path towards harm reduction after participating in a workshop with the Ontario First Nations HIV and AIDS education circle even before she worked in the grocery store. The realization that addictions could be approached with compassion was transformative for her because it had always been a big issue in her family and in her own life. Because she didn’t complete high school, her training has been informal and her work is informed by her lived experiences. “There's certain experiences that I've had that make me employable,” she explains.

Her lack of education has been a barrier, impacting her self-esteem and causing her to doubt herself in some environments. Miansum overcame that by doing everything else she could to thrive in her work otherwise, like attending workshops, getting her drivers license and first aid certifications, and anything else she could to make herself more employable.

To keep her mental health in check, Mianscum avoids situations that could be harmful to her sobriety, sticking instead to trusted friends and reaching out to her supports, community members, her mom and her elders. Her advice to youth looking to build their social support is to find confidence in approaching people, remember that you’re both humans and look for common interests.

“It's scary. It's really hard. I totally have been in an awkward stage where I don't want to talk to anybody. I just want to be in my own world. But the first step is just saying hello, and it's awkward. It's always gonna be awkward, but it goes away,” she reassures confidently.

When it comes to inspiration, Mianscum looks to her family and her mom, Lynn Marie Manitou. She describes her mom as “a coordinator and a leader, and she's just a brilliant woman.” She also looks up to her father, someone who has challenged and motivated her to do the work she does in shelter and homelessness. Her friends inspire her, too. At one time, she used to be a self-taught fancy shawl dancer and go to powwows with her family, and now she goes to the gym to stay active. They go foraging for medicines and berries together as a family and find ways to pass the time in their quiet community.

Knowing it gets better and that it takes time and patience, Neebiish Miancum is being kind with herself as she moves forward in her life. Focused on her sobriety, she’s taking good care of herself, using her skills as a harm reduction advocate and sharing her message of hope. She’s overcome so many obstacles in life and now she’s creating space to heal and room to dream about what’s going to come next.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.