Healing Transitions 20th Anniversary Publication

“ One of the biggest impacts Healing Transitions
has had is how it has helped keep people out
of jails and hospitals. I’ve also noticed how the
community has felt safer because of the work
Healing Transitions and its partners have done.”
and friends for the holidays. He
replied that the best thing I could
give my family for Christmas is
the gift of being clean and sober.
So I decided to stay for another
night, but I told myself that the
next day would be my last.
My plan for the next day was to
get up in the morning, trudge
with the guys to attend a class,
then leave after the class was
over. But while I was sitting in
that class, I had a realization. It
felt like someone tapped me on
the shoulder and said, “Where
are you going? You’ve burnt every
bridge that you have. Nobody
wants you around because you
cause problems every time
you get to drinking. You have
nowhere to go.” After the class
was over, instead of leaving to be
with my family, I decided to stay a
little while longer.
classes to the new participants.
I was near the end of my second
term as a peer mentor when
Chris Budnick, now the Executive
Director, asked if I would like to
work at Healing Transitions. I
said I would love to, and started
working part-time before being
hired on full-time.
Ever since I made that decision
during class to stay in the
program, life in recovery has been
incredible. I would never want to
live my life any other way. What I
learned while going through the
program are lessons that I’ll take
with me for the rest of my life. I’m
so grateful for the classes where
I learned that because of this
disease, if I go back out and use
again even once, I’ll wind up right
back where I was 19 years ago.
The recovery program also taught
me how to help other people.
Because before I came here,
I wasn’t interested in helping
another person unless I was
getting something out of it. But
now I know how to truly care for
another person.
What I didn’t realize as I stepped
onto the men’s campus on
After about three months of
being in the recovery program,
I made my mind up that this
was something I was going to
do. I’ve never finished anything
in my life, but I decided that I
would complete this recovery
program. And on September 3,
2002, I became the 85th person
to complete the program. After
finishing, I signed up to be a
peer mentor and helped teach
Raeford during check-in.
31 CELEBRATING YEARS OF RECOVERY HEALING-TRANSITIONS.ORG