This can happen to anyone: A grieving N.S. family on addiction, loss and hope – Halifax [Video]

“No family is immune.”

It’s a message Tina Comeau-Surette wants to share far and wide.

In January, her son, Justin Surette, died from an accidental overdose at the age of 21 after a hard-fought battle with addiction.

Through it all, Comeau-Surette said they never gave up hope and never stopped fighting.

“Justin always said no child grows up hoping to be an addict, and it’s so true,” she said, adding that he was “not a bad person.”

“He was just somebody who, unfortunately, when he was very young, got himself into a position that for him became a lifelong struggle.”

To coincide with International Overdose Awareness Day, Justin’s family released a video this past weekend to share his story — in their words, and in his.

Justin was only 14 when he tried cocaine for the first time. What followed, his mother said, was a seven-year addiction that included crack cocaine and pills.

“Justin …