'It was heartbreaking': After 12 years trapped in the hell of ice addiction, one woman turns her life around and thanks the twin sister who stood by her when others gave up
- Sara-Michelle, from Melbourne, was just 15 when she tried ice for the first time
- She has been clean for 15 months after a long 12-year addiction to the drug
- Her twin sister, who she jokingly calls her 'womb mate' never gave up on her
- She is currently studying and preparing to help raise money for Anglicare VIC
Sara-Michelle was 16 when she tried ice for the first time.
After 12 hellish years of addition that left her broke, homeless and finally in jail, she regained control of her life, thanks in no small part to the twin sister who stood by her throughout the ordeal.
'It got very bad,' she told FEMAIL about her addiction.
'I was dealing. I went to jail. I was homeless. I was malnourished. I was involved in a lot - being a dealer I was committing crimes. I was charged a few times with drug trafficking and drug driving.'
She has now been clean for 15 months after ending up in jail and then attending a live-in rehab facility.
Sara-Michelle (pictured left) was 16 when she tried ice for the first time and was addicted to the drug for 11 years with no support from anyone but her twin sister. Pictured with twin Shamona
The now 29-year-old said she was locked up and bailed on the Court Integrated Services Program (CISP) program, which saw her regularly meet with supervisors and undergo rehabilitation.
She completed the program but she became homeless and quickly got involved with drugs again.
The student said she got caught a month later and ended up in jail for 30 days.
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That is when she attended a live-in rehabilitation facility as police wouldn't approve bail without it.
The Melbourne woman was in the facility for eight months.
She said going into the facility was difficult, with many patients still using drugs, but Sara-Michelle was determined not to lapse again, and strived to get clean and change her life for good.
She said her addiction got to such a low point she found herself in prison repeatedly
'It was very hard, and it was so easy to get and it was around me all the time,' she said.
'I was still in a relationship with someone [who was an active user], who I met when I was using and still with when I was in jail and rehab.
'I got to a point where he was still using and living that life and I was over it. I wanted to keep moving forward, and I broke the relationship off.'
The magistrate initially deferred her sentence for four months while she studied, continued rehab and was on house supervision before he commended her.
'So I went back to court and he said I was the poster girl for rehabilitiation,' she said.
Growing up the pair were distant, with Shamona revealing while she tried to be there for her sister she couldn't understand why Sara-Michelle became an addict
'He said he had never seen someone in 22 years of working on the bench pull themselves out of addiction like me.
'He signed me out of court, I pretty much walked out of there with no more orders because of the work I put in.'
She didn't know how to feel when she walked out of court free for the first time in years.
'It was a new experience, I hadn't had something like that for a long time and I didn't know when it was going to end - to walk out and realise i could leave the state if I wanted, or technically the country,' she said.
'I was just walking out free and everything I did was taken into consideration - and what I did wasn't a walk in a park.'
She has achieved so much in the last year - and through it all her twin sister Shamona stood by her side.
'It was in our early 20’s that I started to realise why she developed an addiction,' she said
Growing up the pair were distant, with Shamona struggling to comprehend Sara-Michelle's incapacity to break out of her destructive lifestyle.
'It was in our early 20’s that I started to realise why she developed an addiction,' she said.
'I started to understand and I was still there for her through all of her hard times, even if it was hard for me.'
Shamona could see glimpses of her sister's true self trapped inside the drug user.
'[It was] heartbreaking,' she said.
'She is my twin sister, we didn’t share the life most twins are fortunate to have.
Shamona said she could see her sister's true-self trapped inside and wanting to escape. She said she believed the addiction was a reason to numb internal pain
'The usual things that siblings worry about, like stealing each other's clothes or bickering about trivial items… my biggest worry was if my sister was safe and alive.'
Sara-Michelle is extremely grateful for her sister and their current great relationship.
'She stood by me through everything,' she said.
'She is such a beautiful sister and I am so grateful to have her. She never gave up on me and helped me when I was in jail.
'She was always still there and doing what she could to help even though everyone else had turned their backs on me.'
Sara-Michelle has a lot lined up for the next year. To build on her studies she undergoing a diploma in community services case management and she continues to her story through Australia Anti Ice Campaign
Shamona is proud of everything Sara-Michelle has achieved in the last 15 months - including getting certificate four in alcohol, drugs and mental health, helping at Anti-Ice Australia and an upcoming adventure.
Sara-Michelle has a lot lined up for the next year. She is undergoing a diploma in community services case management and she continues to her story through Australia Anti Ice Campaign, where she visits schools to educate youth on the dangers of ice.
She will also be helping raise money for Anglicare Victoria on March 30, 2019, in the Altitude Shift.
She will also be helping raise money for Anglicare Victoria on March 30, 2019, in the Altitude Shift
The event will see her abseil down a 27-storey building in Melbourne's Central Business District.
She said she is doing this as the organisation has helped her in her life as she was a foster child herself.
Now she is 'facing my fears and just living my life and taking opportunities.'
She said: 'There is so much I have missed out on and I want to make the most in life.'
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