JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The New Year often means a new start for some, and one St. Augustine woman who overcame drug addiction wanted others addicted to substances to do the same.
Cameron Jewell is the founder of Project Liberation, which is a substance abuse support group for all ages.
Jewell said starting an online support group for people who want to get off drugs has been a dream of hers for years since becoming sober, and she wanted it open to all ages because she started doing drugs when she was younger.
“I started doing drugs at a very young age. I was raised by drug addicts,” Jewell said “By the time I was 15, I had a needle in my arm and was strung out on methamphetamine.”
Jewell launched the support group on Jan. 1 to help those addicted to drugs get healthy.
“The intention here is to first break the stigma around addiction. There are a lot of assumptions and judgments and shame around addiction. So, I want to create a safe space for people to come and be real,” Jewell said.
Jewell said she quit using drugs when she was 20 years old and has been sober for almost nine years.
She said if teens are interested in joining, she wants their parents to be involved, too -- so they can support their child’s recovery as well.
“For that kids, it’s all about showing them love and validating their existence. Every case is going to be different, so it’s hard to come up with an approach to all that children but at the root is love,” Jewell said.
Since Jewell has been in multiple support groups before, she plans to ensure that Project Liberation is successful.
“I’m not going to give up,” she said.
Jewell said she does plan to have the support group eventually meet in person and when that happened they will do different activities and include various speakers.