From the outside, Joy seemed to have it all together. She had a job as a paralegal, was married and had raised her children. But deep down, she was struggling to keep it all from unraveling. “It was a mess,” she says. “I started drinking heavily and suddenly decided I needed to move. I…
Kendal, 30, is a survivor, beating cancer as a young child and facing heart surgery as a teen. While his early life was rocky due to illness, when he looks back at his childhood in Dayton, Ohio, he smiles when he thinks about his mom. “My mom worked very hard every day,” shares Kendal.…
Healing Transitions’ Recovery Outreach Department, incepted in 2018, made 8,308 outreach attempts in 2023. Recognizing the challenge of maintaining and tracking such a significant volume of calls and data, Recovery Outreach Specialist Trish Wuchte, who has been instrumental in enhancing the program, developed an innovative phone tree system. This initiative connects individuals in sustained recovery…
Ashley’s addiction-to-recovery journey was a quick spiral from a sheltered, middle-class childhood with her family to being homeless. “I had my first drink at 16, and I immediately fell in love with it,” she remembers. “I grew up in church. My life was very structured and protected. After I started drinking, I used drugs…
You may have seen Jackie’s work when you’re walking through downtown Raleigh at her public-facing art studio at Artspace. Or maybe you’ve heard some of the inspiring conversations she’d had with other career-minded artists on her podcast, the Level Up Artist Podcast. But what you might not have known about her is her heart for…
Timmy Fox’s remarkable journey from a participant in the Healing Transitions Long-Term Recovery Program to Silver Chipper #984 is a testament to the transformative impact that recovery has had on him. His unwavering commitment to serving others as a Recovery Engagement Specialist at Healing Transitions underscores this impact. In one of his college courses…
Daniel was raised in a loving, two-parent home and according to him, he had “everything anyone could ever want or desire.” When Daniel, 38, left home for North Carolina A&T State University, he was introduced to alcohol, marijuana and eventually, cocaine. What started out as recreational use amongst friends and colleagues slowly turned into an…
Caroline would tell you her childhood growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was anything but typical. Her parents were both drinkers, and Caroline always felt a little different, like she just didn’t belong. In middle school, her parents got divorced, and tragically, her mom attempted suicide in front of her. Her…
For many, finding support after starting their recovery journey looks like attending a meeting with their mentor for coffee, or serving as a peer mentor to help others seeking freedom from addiction. For partners in life and recovery, Millie, 39, and Bryan, 39, it looks like a long hike in the woods with friends in…
Addiction affects everyone in the orbit of a loved one battling the disease. And miraculously, so does recovery. Jake and his close-knit family were faced with the terrifying reality of addiction not long ago. His mother, Teresa, remembers knowing there were problems, but not knowing her son’s problems were rooted in a drug addiction. It…