Coming Full Circle at Detox

In March, Tamlyn Sunchild, shown here with daughter, started her Social Work Student Practicum at the MDU. This is a very special Practicum because Tamlyn first came to our downtown site in 2012, needing a place to sleep and sober up. The 2012 stay was the first of multiple times at the site during a long healing journey. 

Tamlyn grew up on the Sunchild First Nation by Rocky Mountain House. When her mother passed in 2008, Tamlyn moved to Edmonton. She had a job, and apartment, was studying at Norquest College and was looking after her daughter, younger brothers, and a niece. Alcohol started to push that life aside.  

From 2010 to 2018, Tamlyn went from being off the radar on the streets, to trying to stabilize with detox and treatment programs, volunteer work, and getting back into cultural practices. Alcohol and street life kept calling. A favorite uncle passing was the final push back into the harsh cycle of alcohol, the streets, the justice system, and hospital recoveries.  

During this time, Spady was always some place to go, somewhere to sleep during a downward spiral. Tamlyn recalls, “I was hopeless for a long time. In my mind I was suicidal, but my body just kept going.” In 2018, Shelter staff carried her in, got her dry clothes and a shower. Then Tamlyn persevered through a multi-day withdrawal experience that ended with her clearly hearing her daughter. That was the turning point.

From Detox, Tamlyn went to the Poundmaker treatment program. Her mother and grandfather were her first cultural practice teachers and Tamlyn remembered and focused on those teachings in her healing. Recognizing her vulnerability after treatment, Tamlyn came back and stayed at Detox for a few months until January, 2019 when, with the help of the Housing First team, she moved into an apartment that was home until late 2022 when she and her daughter moved into their own townhome. 

Learning and teaching have been and will continue to be major themes in Tamlyn’s life. From 2019 to 2021, she completed the Indigenous Home Care Support program then went into the Indigenous Social Work program that she will graduate from this spring. Her next step is completing a Bachelor’s degree then a 2-year Master’s program at the Yellowhead Tribal College.

Culture and tradition are a core part of that learning and teaching. Tamlyn works at the Red Road Healing Society, meeting with clients to share teachings and lead culture activities like beading, and making moccasins and ribbon skirts.

But learning was also a big part of Tamlyn’s time with the streets and alcohol. Hard-earned wisdom can lift many burdens. She shared some of that wisdom: “Life happens, things to keep us down. Our minds and our guilt keep us down but are just a weight to carry. If you’re really sorry, you’ll forgive yourself and then you can do so much.”

Stepping into a Student Practicum at the Spady Detox shows how much Tamlyn has healed and how far forward she has travelled. She says, “I wake up sometimes and can’t believe where I am, I’m so thankful.” GSS staff were there again and again in Tamlyn’s long journey so having her back at Detox, preparing to graduate as a Social Worker closes a remarkable circle of acceptance, support, and healing. Congratulations, Tamlyn, and thank you for sharing a story that now strengthens and encourages all of us.