Alcohol led Sam Irqqiut down a dangerous road.

When he was 27, Irqqiut decided the only way out of his struggle was to leave Nunavut and come to Yellowknife SA国际影视传媒� even if it meant arriving with nothing.

Seven years later, after being set up with a place to stay in his uncle's apartment, obtaining a cell phone and full-time job, he says he is determined to stay on the right track.

Now, the only down-side, says Irqqiut, is only working 10 hours a day.

SA国际影视传媒淢y job has been the best thing to happen to me in a while,SA国际影视传媒� said Irqqiut. SA国际影视传媒淚 love the crew, my foreman and my boss.SA国际影视传媒�

Even though the new job has been keeping his mind at ease, his life on the streets is still fresh on his mind.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was disgusting,SA国际影视传媒� Irqqiut recalls of his first-time as a homeless person. SA国际影视传媒淲hile I was at (a shelter), I wasn't treated like a person. We slept on mats that were two-feet wide and I was surrounded by guys who were drinking Lysol, Listerine, hand sanitizer ... the air was thick, some nights it was hard to breathe.SA国际影视传媒�

Frequent stops at the shelter soon became too much for Irqqiut who eventually made arrangements to stay with his girlfriend at the time. That helped get him off the street and into her home in transitional housing.

Although, the new arrangement couldn't keep Irqqiut out of trouble.

He admits he was no stranger the North Slave Correctional Complex. But it was while he was serving a sentence for sexual assault, he finally decided his life needed to take another direction.

Irqqiut openly confided in another inmate who was willing to help.

SA国际影视传媒淪am's story is just like every story you hear from Indigenous guys who are on the inside,SA国际影视传媒� said Dan Gillis, who met Sam while also serving a sexual assault sentence (which is currently under appeal). SA国际影视传媒淭hey come from broken homes, drugs, violence, incest ... I can't help everyone of them but I saw Sam wanted to change.SA国际影视传媒�

Once he was released from jail, Gillis provided Irqqiut with a cellphone, a place to stay and helped him access proper identification. Gillis explained if he wasn't there to help provide these essential services Sam would be back in jail.

SA国际影视传媒淚t's a rigged system,SA国际影视传媒� said Gillis, alluding to Irqquit's difficulties obtaining an ID.

SA国际影视传媒淭hese guys don't have the $50 they need to get the ID when they leave NSCC ... they leave with nothing,SA国际影视传媒� he said, adding their inability to get an ID makes more difficult to stay out of jail.

Irqqiut added the hardest part of being released from prison was thinking of going back to the shelter.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou just fall into the drugs and the drinking,SA国际影视传媒� said Irqqiut. SA国际影视传媒淚t's a fast track back to jail.SA国际影视传媒�

Irqqiut grew up up in Taloyoak during the 1980s where he did drugs and thought of suicide.

He said many people there went days without eating because of expensive grocery prices. As for the youth in the hamlet, the thought of suicide was the only other way to cope with living in a place where addiction was normal, said Irqqiut.

SA国际影视传媒淭aloyoak is a small-knit community where the grocery prices were inhumane and there was little to no work,SA国际影视传媒� said Irqqiut. SA国际影视传媒淪ometimes I would even try and jump in when my dad was working ... as a young boy I was curious and had a lot of energy.SA国际影视传媒�

Irqqiut said he looked up to his father who worked his fingers-to-the-bone in an effort to provide for him and his four siblings. Sometimes for Irqqiut that still wasn't enough help.

"I lost my brother,SA国际影视传媒� he recalls. SA国际影视传媒淗e committed suicide on the night before his twentieth birthday.SA国际影视传媒�

Although the thought still haunts him, he remembers trying to carry on with his life, trying to find a job that would help him provide for he and his sister after their mother left.

During his time as a teenager, Irqqiut said the mental and emotional stress he had experienced during his adolescence soon consumed his life and eventually he began to find compassion through alcohol.

SA国际影视传媒淚 drank as much as I could so I didn't feel any pain. Every holiday like Christmas and new years, it's all a blur for me ... and I don't want to see it clearly because there's just this giant gap,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

A life he said which is thankfully in his rear-view mirror.

Irqqiut shows his thankfulness to be at work by sometimes showing up first to the site and always willing to work, said his supervisor at Clark Builders (who asked not to be named).

SA国际影视传媒淲e are very happy with Sam's work ethic. His ability to take direction and do as asked has made him a great asset to Clark Builders,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淪am is great to have on site, he has a positive attitude and is always happy to help wherever needed.SA国际影视传媒�

After work, Irqqiut said he goes home, falls asleep, wakes up and gets ready for work again.

This is a routine which he finds satisfying to say the least after enduring what he recalls is a life of hunger, depression and hopelessness.