When Brittany Stockley was in prison, she told guards she was pregnant—not because she knew it to be true, but to receive extra food and sweets to cope with withdrawal from her drug addiction. At the time, she didn’t believe she was actually expecting. That changed when she was taken to a hospital for prenatal care. An ultrasound revealed she was pregnant with twins, a moment that shifted her perspective. “When you’re sitting in jail, it’s like, something happened here … We can either make a change or we can stay here. And I [have] seen a little light at the end of the tunnel,” said Stockley.
Her twins were born three months after her release. In those early days, her sister stepped in to care for them, giving Stockley time to stabilize before eventually bringing her children home to raise them herself.
With the help of her family and advocate Jeannie Piercey, Stockley was able to stop using substances and later regained parental rights. That support system played a crucial role in her recovery—something she now hopes to provide to others facing similar struggles.
Today, Stockley serves on the advisory board for the non-profit Roots of Resilience, where she is helping build the kind of support network she once needed.
One of the organization’s key initiatives is Shelly’s Haven, a recovery home designed to house up to six mothers and their children. The program will allow families to stay together while receiving round-the-clock support, including mental health and addiction care, parenting guidance, and help navigating social systems.
The facility is set to open in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the summer of 2026. “This will be new to our province to have a sober recovery home for women and children, but we really want to focus on a family-centred approach,” said Piercey, Roots of Resilience co-founder, reported by CBC.
For Stockley, the work remains deeply personal. “I’ve got friends still out there. I miss them. I’ve got friends that I’ve lost. I’ve got friends that have lost families. It’s everywhere,” she said.
Her commitment to helping others is reflected in her support for her friend Courtney Pearce. When Pearce became pregnant with her second child, she was still using substances and struggling to quit. “I tried as soon as I found out that the pregnancy test was positive. I tried to stop using,” said Pearce.
Stockley connected her with Roots of Resilience—a decision Pearce says changed her life. “I didn’t have very many people left that believed in me. So to have a friend believe in me and say like, ‘You can do this,’” said Pearce.
According to CBC reports, “It just gave me that extra push to want to find myself again, I think. And it just made me open up and realize that, you know, I’m not too far gone.”
When Pearce gave birth, she was told her baby would be placed in a foster home six hours away. Thanks to Piercey’s advocacy, the child was kept closer, allowing for more consistent contact. “I had a Jeannie there advocating for, you know, shipping my breast milk and making sure that I had six days of access visits right away,” said Pearce. “Things like that don’t happen without advocacy.”
Media professional and journalist based in British Columbia, Canada. Founder of Studiox Film & TV Corporation, focusing on multicultural news, interviews, and community storytelling across Canada.
