Wantagh resident from Ukraine overcomes drug addiction, starts recovery clothing brand - Faces of Long Island - Newsday

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Wantagh resident from Ukraine overcomes drug addiction, starts recovery clothing brand
‘Addiction and mental health problems do not discriminate. They can happen to a lawyer, doctor, teacher – anyone.’ Wantagh “My grandparents are from Ukraine, and they emigrated to Poland during World War II. I was born in Poland. Growing up, we spoke both Polish and Ukrainian, and I went to a Ukrainian school. When I was 10 years old, my father saw a flyer in a newspaper that said ‘Green Card Lottery,’ and we won! He and my mom moved here first, and later I came with my two siblings. “Coming to the U.S. was different. In Poland, my grandmother would go outside to a well to get a bucket of water to boil for showers. That’s how we’d wash our hair at her home. I think that’s why I appreciate how much we have in this country. “We continued our cultural traditions when we came to the U.S., like folk dancing, singing and cooking. The Ukrainian culture is beautiful; I’ve always been proud to be Ukrainian. My very first tattoo was of a tryzub, our national symbol. “It wasn’t easy growing up feeling different from others. I had to adjust to a new culture, new language and new people. As a young teen, I had gone through a lot of trauma that I never discussed. It led me to start experimenting with different substances. It was the only way I knew how to cope with things at such a young age. “I’ve had some run-ins with the law. Still, I managed to get my bachelor’s degree in visual communications and my master’s in education. I wasn’t your typical person in recovery, or the image of what people think that is. Because addiction and mental health problems do not discriminate. They can happen to a lawyer, doctor, teacher –