Before starting her dog-grooming business Laura-Leigh DiGiovanni's life had spiralled out of control.
"I was living in a homeless shelter to get away from a man... we were both getting arrested, there were restraining orders," says the 47-year-old.
"So I was going in this downward sledge, really hitting rock bottom."
Suffering from anxiety disorder and depression, the Toronto native says she often couldn't face the world at all.
"For two years I couldn't leave the house without a panic attack. Men scared the hell out of me, everything scared the hell out of me."
Laura-Leigh was ultimately pulled from her abyss by a policeman who referred her to a Canadian mental health court.
These are criminal courts created to deal with people with mental health problems. The idea is that the judges try to focus more on helping the accused tackle their condition instead of just punishing them.