Altona resident Justina Bueckert hopes to break the stigma surrounding having a family member struggling with addictions and on the streets, after the successful search for her missing sister, Lena.

"She has been in and out of our lives now for the last year, but not knowing if she's ok or where she is has been, especially for my mom, terribly hard," Bueckert says.

Bueckert recently turned to social media after three weeks without contact with Lena, posting a plea for information of her sister. Her Facebook post was shared more than 1,200 times.

Since posting others have contacted her describing similar situations of family struggling with addictions and on the streets. However, she says the stigma still remains.

"They have children in the same situation and they said, "We don't talk about it because there's no one who understands it unless they're going through it," That's why we need to talk about this... we're not the only ones going through it," Bueckert says.

Yet she says they've seen strong local support.

"There have been a few people upset with us, and that's been hard to take, but the local community has been great... for the most part we've received really positive feedback."

Living in Winnipeg Lena is usually in contact with family once a week, Bueckert says. It had been over three weeks since Lena last spoke with family.

"Thanksgiving came and went with no contact, so we started getting worried," Bueckert explains.

Lena has lived in Winnipeg for over a year, but has since been removed from her living arrangement. Without a cellphone and permanent address Bueckert says it's challenging to know how to find her. The family had also made a missing persons report with the Winnipeg Police.