A mum has revealed how she finally got clean after 15 years of drug abuse – during which time she almost lost custody of her children.
Sheneece Corner-Davies was sent to a family rehabilitation centre after social services took her to court regarding her ability to parent, with her children coming with her as she fought to get clean.
The 29-year-old was finally able to ditch the drugs after more than half of her life had been consumed by substance abuse – with the mum-of-three taking ketamine, cocaine and alcohol daily.
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At the height of her addiction, Sheneece was “consumed” and even took her children with her on late-night drug runs.
It wasn’t until the threat of having them removed from her care entirely that she was finally able to start the gruelling process of recovery.
“I didn’t even realise I was an addict – addicts don’t see it,” Sheneece, from Widnes, Cheshire, told Need To Know.
“I was using whatever I could get my hands on, every single day.
“It controlled me completely.
“I’m so ashamed to admit this, but I did things I never should have done.
“I took my children with me to meet people in the middle of the night, and there were times I left them in the flat on their own so I could go out to meet the dealer, or I’d take them to parties or to my friends’ houses in the middle of the night.
“Addiction blinded me.
“I couldn’t see anything else, but that is no excuse.
“It was wrong, and that guilt is exactly what drove me to change.
“I will never put them at risk again.
“Social services took me to court, ready to remove my children, but the judge saw I was a good mum who had struggles and decided to give me a chance, and sent me to rehab.
“The thought of them being taken away, of them growing up in care as I did, terrified me more than anything.
“That fear is the only reason I walked through the doors of rehab.
“There were no wake-up calls and no sudden realisation that I was hurting myself or anyone else – the only thing I cared about was not losing my children.
“My boys are my whole world, even when the addiction made it impossible to show it.”
Sheneece began taking drugs when she was just 13 after falling in with the wrong crowd and desperately wanting to fit in.
Her habit quickly spiralled into an addiction to cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.
By 15, she was committing crimes, harming herself and had been placed in a secure unit.
She said: “I was mixing with the wrong people.
“I was trying to fit in and wanted to be the cool kid.
“I didn’t want to be labelled as boring, so it began young and progressed rapidly.
“I was using anything I could get my hands on – cocaine, alcohol, ketamine, balloons or whatever was available.
“By the time I was 15, everything was completely out of control.
“I was just trapped in chaos and didn’t know how to stop.”
Her substance use continued into adulthood and eventually affected her ability to care for her own children.
Sheneece said: “I didn’t care about anything but my habit.
“The addiction consumed everything.
“I was spending money I didn’t have, lending money I couldn’t pay back, robbing from shops and doing absolutely anything to fund it.
“I lost friends, I pushed my family away, I became a horrible and selfish person.
“I didn’t care about anyone or anything except getting high.
“I didn’t recognise myself anymore.
“I was broken.
“Even through all of it, no matter how bad things got, I made sure of one thing, and that’s that the kids never missed a single day of nursery.
“I got them there every day, but I wasn’t truly there.
“My head was foggy, I was exhausted, and deep down I knew I wasn’t the mummy they deserved.
“I showed up physically, but not fully.
“I knew I had to get better.”
When social services intervened in 2022, Sheneece faced one final chance: go to rehab and get clean, or face losing her three sons.
Thankfully, she realised she liked being sober – and was able to stick to it after leaving the 12-week programme.
Her sons even went to family rehab with her.
She said: “The judge said that we deserved to stay together, and he didn’t want to split us up; he gave me a chance.
“We came home together when it was the right time – steady, safe, and ready.
“It was a fresh start for all of us.”
Her eldest son, now 10, lives with his dad, while her two youngest children, aged five and six, live with her full time.
Sheneece said: “I enjoyed being clean, waking up sober and fresh and enjoyed living with my children.
“I also found Narcotics Anonymous, and I found myself a sponsor.
“I did my driving lessons, got my car, and my own place.
“Recovery wasn’t a straight line, and I stumbled.
“I relapsed first on prescription medication, then drinking again in 2023.
“But something shifted because I realised how far I had come, and what I could lose – and slowly, this time it stuck.
“I kept showing up, kept working at it.
“I was monitored in the beginning – I knew I needed to prove I could be trusted.
“Now I stand on my own – clean, consistent, and fully responsible for my children.”
Sheneece is now one year and five months clean after 15 years of drug abuse – and this month she started college to study Health and Social Care, with the ambition of becoming a social worker.
She said: “Everything has changed.
“The kids never missed nursery then, and now I’m actually there properly; I take them happy, well, and on time.
“I’m fully present, no fog, no hiding, no fear, I never leave them alone – I’m always here.
“I protect them, and that’s my number one job.
“I’m finally the mummy they always deserved.”
Sheneece hopes to use her own experiences of addiction, motherhood and the care system to help other vulnerable young people and families.
She added: “Recovery didn’t start with a change of heart – it started with fear.
“But fear turned into something real.
“I’m not just ‘off things’; I’m actually living now.
“I’m a present mum, and my children are thriving.
“I want to help other young people and families, especially those in care, because I know what it feels like.
“I’m present for my children, I’m building a life I’m proud of, and I’m turning every hard thing that ever happened to me into something that helps others.
“I’m proof that you don’t have to start with the right reasons; you just have to start.
“Progress, not perfection, every single day and one day at a time.”
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