Running Towards Recovery - Mike's Recovery Story
At that moment, all I could think about was how small my life had become. A small box of downtown and every single-occupancy locking bathroom between the Waterfront and the base of the West Hills. We hopped on the MAX, met the man, and split our bag. I knew I wanted to try again. Try to get sober. Try treatment again. I was done being miserable, cold, dopesick, wet, and alone. I was tired of "friends" whose only goal was to get what you got if you had anything. I knew at that moment that I was capable of so much more than being a junkie...
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From Displacement to Amazement
It can be said it takes a whole community to help get people into recovery and arrest the disease of addiction and provide services for mental health. There are many community Organizations that go into supporting just a single person to accomplish this goal. There is no final destination or finish line. There is only progress and the people you meet on the journey
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Why Don't You Just Get Over It? The Secret Heart of Dual Diagnosis
When I sobered up in 1977, there was no such thing as dual diagnosis. Depression was dismissed as a “sincere form of self-pity.” … Once, during my first year, I was speaking in a meeting in the basement of the Alano Club, trying to work out something about my self-image, and Don, who enjoyed putting people in their places, stood up and said, “Self-image, schmelf-image! You’re an ALCOHOLIC!”
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Queer Girls With Guts
This is the blog I was never going to write. “Who am I to write about being queer and living with Crohn’s?” I kept asking myself. There are certainly far better LGBTQ+ advocates in the IBD community, people who are confident, showing us excellent examples of positivity and joy.
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Tools That Have Helped Me In Long-Term Recovery
My name is Terry. I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is April 22nd, 1995. I'll give you a little bit of a background on where I came from and what it was like, and then share some recovery tools that have really impacted my life and made me become the person I am today.
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Recovery Spotlight: Reina Bower
“I was given the opportunity to attend a national drug conference in Anaheim, CA with the judge who sent me to prison for the last time. This is the picture that was captured of Judge Bloche and I. WE DO RECOVER!” - Reina Bower, MHAAO’s EVOLVE Director
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This Is What Recovery Looks Like
In honor of Recovery Month 2020, we are highlighting some of our amazing Peer Support Specialists’ recovery stories! Thank you to all of those in recovery who continue to show up for their peers and be a beacon of hope in these difficult times!
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PSS Roman Becerra Receives Section 8 Housing!
My childhood dream was “the American dream:” a house and a family. I never really had stability growing up. Now that I have arrived, it feels so strange to be where I want to be. It’s scary and it feels good at the same time. My sister tells me to be in the moment and allow it to happen. My wife and I keep telling each other “I love this house!”
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Fueling Passion for Peer Support
Demarkus shares his story on going through MHAAO’s /Youth & Young Adult Peer Mentoring Program through OPTIC.
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Navigating DHS with Peer Support!
My peer support specialist worked closely with me over 13 months. We worked together to build up a positive support system in my life and find permanent housing and a better job. His help with navigating the DHS child welfare system and with helping me learn how to advocate for myself and my children was invaluable.
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Success on the OHSU Impact Team!
“My turning point was my fifth hospitalization, when the IMPACT team came into my room to see me. They were kind and supportive, just like the first time they met me.” - Brandy Fishback
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Winning the Unlucky Lottery
It’s nice to be able to remind people that it can be worse. Not to be a martyr, but this is a real life example of what alcohol can do to you. I call it winning the unlucky lottery.
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Taking Charge of Your Recovery!
One of the things I love about being a peer support is getting to hold on to hope for people when they are in a state where they’re feeling really hopeless. I was lucky enough to have people in my life who have loved me and been there to hold on to hope for me when I felt really hopeless and I felt like there was nothing to live for.
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Off The Street, Back to Blanchet
Jessica Carroll is volunteering her time as a counselor to help people facing addiction and homelessness.
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Mental Illness, Transformation and Fit
WOW! Watch her story then read. This Fit for Excellence testimony is one of power, courage, and strength.
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Peer mentor uses her own ACEs story to teach med residents how to help traumatized patients
When O’Nesha Cochran teaches medical residents about adverse childhood experiences in patients, she doesn’t use a textbook.
Instead, the Oregon Health & Science University peer mentor walks in the room, dressed in what she describes as the “nerdiest-looking outfit” she can find.
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