Last Updated: September 30, 2024
Our community’s first ever Regional Recovery Day takes place on Monday, September 30, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Henrico Sports and Entertainment Center (1 All Star Boulevard in Glen Allen).
The event marks the end of National Recovery Month, which closes with a focus on community. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) says, “We do not recover alone. The recovery journey can be easier with the support of friends, family, peers, and others in our communities.”
In Richmond and Henrico, an important part of the recovery community are Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRSs), people who have lived experience with substance use and mental health challenges, who are pursuing recovery, and who have gone through coursework to learn about the best ways to support others.
At Regional Recovery Day and in their work throughout the year, PRSs “put faces to what substance use and mental health challenges can look like,” says Henrico PRS Kay Bradley. “When you see us, you might not know that that was part of our lives. I hope people will come out to the event to learn that there is a different way of life and that things can get better.”
In honor of Regional Recovery Day and in celebration of our communities’ PRSs, we’re sharing some of their stories today. Please come out to the Henrico Sports and Entertainment Center to learn more from these passionate public servants!
Jason Alley, Policy Advisor in Opioid Response for the City of Richmond
Jason started his recovery journey with the Charleston-based Ben’s Friends, a recovery support group for people in the food and beverage industry. Jason brought Ben’s Friends to Richmond, connected with VCU’s Rams in Recovery program, and helped grow the network of what he calls Richmond’s “recovery capital”—the services available to people wanting recovery support.
“For me, personally, there was a real difference between sobriety and recovery,” Jason explains. The reason I like the word recovery is because it’s an active word. And it’s a process—it’s not “recovered.” And it’s about recovering from all sorts of stuff. There was no way to address any other issues until I got the substances out of the way.”
Rams in Recovery led Jason to the semester-long coursework to become a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. His current job focuses on policy advising, but Jason says he brings his peer recovery background into all his work: “PRSs are like a doula for recovery. You still need other services, you still need other supports, but this is someone who has shared lived experience and is there to advocate and help you make informed decisions. They’re not prescribing anything to you—they’re supporting you in your decisions. In my work now, peer training helps me when I’m in the field and working with people who are still in active use. PRS training reminds me that everybody’s path is different, and that supportive communication looks like active listening.”
In his work with policy and Richmond’s Opioid Task Force, Jason embraces a range of strategies to help people navigate substance use disorder. These include stigma reduction, which he considers the ultimate form of prevention: “Unless we can talk about what people are going through, people are going to hide and get secretive, and that’s when it starts to get gnarly.”
He’s also excited to watch the city’s harm reduction measures, including soon-to-be-released harm reduction vending machines, continue. “What matters is that every human life is important, and every human deserves to be treated with dignity. If abstinence-based recovery is right for someone, the best way to enter abstinence-based recovery is to not die. The vending machine supplies are super needed, and our city recognizes that the people who need these supports are important and valuable.”
Kay Bradley, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Henrico County Mental Health and Developmental Services
Kay works with Henrico’s Substance Use Jail Diversion Program to connect people involved with the justice system to rehabilitation services like therapy and positive living environments. She serves as the CPRS for the courts’ newer mental health and behavioral health dockets.
Kay explains that self-disclosure—talking about her own experiences with mental health and substance use—is an important way for her to connect with her clients and to lessen the stigma others might feel about these conditions. “I had 25 years of living with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 20 years ago and given medications, but by that point, I’d already been self-medicating with cocaine and then crack. I had DUIs and did my time in Jail West, so I know what it feels like. It’s funny, because I go in there and I help people there, and it still feels uncomfortable. I wish they’d had a program like the one we have now back then.”
After the birth of her son, Kay began working on recovery: “I’ve been in recovery for 17 years now, and I wanted to do something to give back to the community. When I found out about peer work, I knew it was for me. This is just the kind of job that makes a difference in people’s lives. I know that what we do is helpful. And we’re just here to help people figure out what path they want to go down and what supports help them most.”
A day in Kay’s work might look like taking a client to the VMFA or out into nature to explore some new coping strategies, or working with a court professional to help them understand clients’ perspectives and needs. Her clients fill out workbooks with strategies and support they might need in case of a relapse—Kay calls these “blueprints on your own life and behaviors so that you can support yourself.”
Above all, Kay is an advocate for stigma reduction. This work is important for her clients and for a new generation. Kay’s son just headed to college, and her pride in him radiates off of her. “I’ve been very transparent with him about everything I’ve gone through. Everybody knows someone who has mental health challenges or SUD. And when we suppress, we’re acting like it’s dirty and there’s something wrong with it. Everybody needs help at some point in life, and it’s important that we lift each other up.”
William Pye, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Henrico County Mental Health and Developmental Services
William’s work brings him into contact with substance use programs around the county. He leads REVIVE! trainings that teach residents what to do in case of an opioid overdose and how to use the life-saving reversal agent naloxone. He’s also a proud member of the Empower Henrico Task Force, which brings multiple county agencies together to work on addressing substance use and overdose.
William also works directly with clients navigating substance use. He runs recovery meetings, and he works with Medication Assisted Treatment programs (MAT) that bring medication options to people who need recovery support. MAT can include different types of medications that can be tailored to the individual. William co-facilitates MAT both at the Henrico Jails and with Henrico’s SUD mobile unit. He says the mobile unit is especially effective in sharing county resources with people considering recovery.
“You have a lot of individuals who, when they see a county logo, it brings fear. And I was incarcerated myself, so that feeling resonates—it might not be safe. Coming out into the community shows people that we are humans and that we care.”
William played football for Varina High School and counts talking to student athletes today as one of his most valued activities: “I can say, ‘hey, this can happen to you.’ When we’re in fifth grade and teachers say, ‘draw what you want to be when you grow up,” no one draws someone addicted to a substance. I wouldn’t want to go through it again, but I don’t hold any regrets, because now I can be a teachable tool for someone.”
William says that making changes can feel scary, and so you need a “ball of hope” to remember that change is possible. His inspirational moment came during incarceration, when his 2-year-old daughter came to visit him: “She didn’t know me from a can of paint, and I went back to my cell and cried like a baby. I knew then that I had to do something different and that it had to start while I was incarcerated. And that change came when I moved from sitting in the back of the room at meetings—I was in the RISE program—to the front.”
“When you look at someone with mental health issues, substance use disorder, the small changes for us are huge. It’s important to set some realistic, reachable goals for yourself, so you can really validate yourself. Moving up to the front of the room was big for me. And it led to other small changes.”
As a CPRS now, William cheerleads others making those series of small changes. “I used to dislike the phrase, ‘if I can do it, you definitely can do it.’ I felt like the person saying it didn’t know what I went through, and I thought we were too different. But now, with seven years of sobriety, I really believe that. We’re more alike than we are different. Now, with clients, I say, “I’m just offering some puzzle pieces, and you put your own puzzle together.”
Elaine West, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Henrico County Mental Health and Developmental Services
Elaine says that her work as a CPRS came to her unexpectedly. After working in education and starting her own recovery process, she began facilitating SUD groups for H.Y.P.E. Counseling Services.
“Helping people find a pathway in recovery felt like a puzzle piece came into place. It felt like something I was searching for. It’s very dark on that side, and I wanted to show that there was another way to live. I wanted to pass on some hope and experience to someone else.”
H.Y.P.E. helped with Elaine’s training and internship to become a PRS, and she received a scholarship to take PRS coursework.
“PRSs offer a change in perspective,” Elaine explains. “A session can look like doing meditation, wellness plans, or art-related activities with a client. These activities make you ask, ‘how do I approach something I’m uncomfortable with?’ Think of recovery in the same way. ‘I’m uncomfortable, I don’t know what I’m doing, so how do I talk to myself in that moment?’”
If you’re someone looking to connect with recovery services in Henrico County, Elaine encourages you to come in for help. “The day you make the decision, you can come into our location. You’ll be assessed, speak with a clinician, and then get an appointment for a next visit,” she says.
Elaine says that above all, she tries to “reflect light and hold up a mirror. Anything positive I bring is a reflection of my clients. We bring hope—all you need is that pinpoint of hope, and you’re ready to make a change.”
Services are available at 3908 Nine Mile Road, 10299 Woodman Road, and 2010 Bremo Road, Suite 122. You can also call 804-727-8515 to learn about telehealth options.
Learn more at Regional Recovery Day on September 30. This event has resources for everyone, including REVIVE! training, panels featuring Peer Recovery Specialists, and community organizations ready to share more information. Jason, Kay, William, and Elaine hope to see you there!