New Roads Manager, Lee Sundquist, joined the team 3 years ago. Her talent and compassion as a leader are an integral part of the community’s success. But, her experience with addiction began far before she joined our team. 

“As a child, I didn’t plan to grow up and be an addict. I had hopes and dreams like all my childhood friends,” says Lee. 

At 12 years old, Lee had her first drink. Drinking and smoking pot seemed to provide confidence where she felt she was missing it and dulled the pain of a difficult home life. Things progressed quickly and she was soon stealing liquor out of the cabinet with her friends and drinking before school.

“I got caught a few times. But, the principal knew I was abused at home. I would come to school with bruises and marks… they knew the signs. So, they didn’t tell my parents and let me sleep it off in the sick room,” says Lee.

At just 15, Lee ran away from home with two friends dealing with a similar home situation.

At 16, she injected heroin for the first time.

Abusive relationships followed Lee into adulthood as her unhealthy upbringing led to an unhealthy marriage. She was married at 20, and 2 years later she welcomed her first daughter, Ashley.

“During my pregnancy, I yearned to have a normal life and I stopped using,” says Lee.

But, shortly after Ashley was born, while continuing to bear the physical and mental abuse in her marriage, Lee returned to using substances.

On January 30, 2013, Lee was in a familiar place – standing in front of a judge for crimes committed to support her addiction. This time, she was facing five years of jail time and forced relocation to Ontario. At the same time, she received an ultimatum from her daughter Ashley, now a mother herself, that she would no longer see her or her grandchildren if she didn’t make a change.

Standing in front of Judge Ernie Quantz, Lee was given one last chance. She took it.

Like all women on Vancouver Island right now, Lee had to make the hard decision to leave her community and her children behind to access treatment.

At the end of her treatment, she was offered a voluntary support worker training and they hired her immediately upon completion. She chose to stay on the mainland, where she had built her critical support system. Over the next 8 years, she worked her way up from junior support worker to assistant manager.

“At that point, I decided it was time to return home and help people in my own community,” says Lee.

The decision to move was fraught with conflict for Lee. Moving meant leaving her supports behind; the connections and community that recovery relies on. But, being back on the island also meant reconnecting with her children and grandchildren.

Lee, Director Cheryl Diebel, and Recovery Dog Jango take the stage at the 2024 Hungry Hearts Gala in support of the new women’s program.

Now serving as Manager of New Roads for 3 years, Lee has guided hundreds of men coming through the program. 

“She inspired me from day one because of our shared experience with addiction, and now she is living proof recovery is possible. She is so passionate about the recovery life she is living, which gives all of us hope,” says Sean Woodford, a graduate of the program.

She was even able to reconnect with former board member of Our Place, and the same judge who set her on this new path, Ernie Quantz, to express her gratitude.

Having navigated the challenges of finding treatment herself in our community, Lee is thrilled that women finally won’t have to choose between leaving their family and support systems on Vancouver Island, and getting well.

With her experience, Lee is ready and uniquely motivated to break the cycle of addiction for women here on the island, once and for all. We can’t think of anyone better suited.