About
Andrew Bhatti - InterventionistAndy Bhatti has been working in the fields of addiction, sexual abuse prevention and interventions for many years. He is an avid public speaker, attending numerous speaking engagements on the subject of alcoholism, addiction, sexual abuse, and personal perseverance. He remains very involved with giving back to communities all across Canada.
Andy Bhatti provides interventions in Calgary, Vancouver, and across Canada. He also offers treatment plans, 24 hour recovery support supervision and sober coaching.
Andy graduated from the Justice Institute of British Columbia with an addiction studies certificate, nonviolent crisis intervention program, as well as other programs in the field of Intervention Skills and Training through Canadian and American studies. Andy attends countless workshops and training programs in the field of behavioural addiction and sexual abuse awareness and prevention. He is also one of very few people in Canada to be a certified child sexual abuse prevention facilitator, through Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children program in the United States.
Andy strives to continue raising awareness and prevention on addiction and childhood sexual abuse. Working in communities all across Canada providing safe interventions, recovery support, and sober coaching. Wanting individuals and families to know that there is always hope and help available for everybody.
Troublesome Upbringing
A Trivial Childhood
Andy was raised by a single mom, in 1986 at the age of 8 Andy became part of the Big Brothers Association. Andy was paired with a Big Brother and it would change his life completely — and not for the better. Andy’s Big Brother sexually abused him over four years, from the ages of 10 to 14, when Andy ended it by running away. By then, the damage was done. Once the abuse started, he started acting out and getting into fights, running away, lying, and stealing. Leaving school in grade 5. Andy turned to a life full of drugs, crime, gangs and violence to escape the pain.
Andy started smoking marijuana at the age of 12 to escape reality. By the age of 13 Andy had already been to jail and moved on to harder drugs. By age 16, Andy was a full-blown heroin and cocaine addict and had spent as much time inside a jail cell as out on the streets. He carried on a life of crime and addiction until he was 27 years old.
At that point Andy learned he was about to become a father. Sitting in jail he realized he needed to change. Andy did not want his son to grow up with no father figure like he had. Andy’s focus on drugs and crime was now replaced with recovery, immersing himself into total transformation. Nothing was more important than him being clean and committed to his recovery.
Road to Recovery
Receiving Support – Giving Support
Once released from jail, Andy started attending weekly counselling with family counsellors, addiction doctors, psychologists, and regular recovery treatment programs and meetings. At first he wasn’t sure if any of this counselling, therapy or recovery treatment would work, but he had nothing to lose in trying.
After years of being clean off cocaine, heroin, methadone and all other substances, he realized that if he could get clean, anybody can.
He began working with high risk youth in foster care, accompanying them to Narcotics Anonymous meeting regularly, reconnecting them with education, assisting them with employment resources. He started supporting, talking, sharing and mentoring others suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
In 2012 Andy began a campaign bringing awareness to childhood sexual abuse and survivors living with addiction. Andy has worked with well-known celebrities for his charity events across Canada raising thousands of dollars for agencies in need of supports and resources for survivors. These celebrities include NHL players, TV actors, UFC fighters, movie stars, CFL players, models and singers.
Survivors Supporting Survivors
Fundraising / Charity / Awards
In 2014 Andy founded Survivors Supporting Survivors, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and resources for survivors of childhood victimization. Through charity events their goal is to raise funds for existing agencies which provide services for men, women and children who have been victims of child abuse and or sexual violence.
In 2015 Andy was nominated for and won the Courage to Come Back Award in the addiction category. This award is presented by Coast Mental Health of British Columbia.
Andy strives to continue raising awareness and prevention on addiction and childhood sexual abuse. Working in communities all across Canada providing safe interventions, recovery support, and sober coaching. Wanting individuals and families to know that there is always hope and help available for everybody.
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