Faith leaders, business owners, photographers, probation officers, civic neighbors. Profiles of the people whose roles put them close to recovery in everyday community life, and who chose to show up as humans first. Articles trace what that looks like in practice. The small decisions, the open doors, the moments that turned out to matter.
18 pieces
Lonny Martin spent his early recovery learning to survive one minute at a time. Then he realized something unexpected: his hardest-won knowledge could transform someone else's life. Now as a peer supp…
Marcus sits across from his sponsor, sharing something he couldn't tell anyone during his using years. This conversation wouldn't happen without the relationships he's rebuilt. The article explores ho…
A person in recovery walks into a community center for the first time. She's nervous about judgment, but finds others like her, a job board, and counselors who know her name. This is what recovery-fri…
Sarah finds peace washing dishes, mopping floors, sensing wonder in tasks most people rush through. Alison Webb's Recovery Allies explores how spiritual health shapes recovery differently for each per…
A pastor stands before her congregation on Sunday morning and names addiction aloud, speaking of it not as moral failure but as illness worthy of compassion. Her church becomes one of hundreds nationw…
Sarah sits in her doctor's office for the first time in five years. Her recovery journey is months old, but her body carries the weight of years of substance use. This article explores how health beco…
Someone asks you what you can do to help. Maybe you know a person in recovery searching for housing, or you want your neighborhood to embrace recovery-friendly communities. "Safe housing is the founda…
An employee dreads Monday mornings, calls in sick twice a month, and quietly struggles with anxiety that nobody at work knows about. Employers are discovering that mental health support isn't just com…
A second-grader learns why medication belongs in a locked cabinet. A fourth-grader understands how drugs affect the brain. Prevention education starts early and builds year by year. This column explor…
Alicia Smith sits across from a person on probation and asks about their hobbies, their family, what matters to them. She's a probation officer, which most people assume means enforcing rules. But Smi…
Ron Springel sits across from someone newly in recovery and asks an open question: What is your recovery journey like? That conversation, that listening, is where allyship begins. This guide offers fi…
Joanne Arnold stands at dawn with men gathering around a fire circle at MaineWorks, camera in hand. She photographs people in early recovery, capturing moments of dignity and determination. Later, her…
Elise Boyson came to yoga and felt something unexpected: she was coming home to herself. Now, as Executive Director of Sea Change Yoga in Portland, she brings trauma-informed classes to people in jail…
Rev. Allen Ewing Merrill stands before his congregation and speaks plainly: every person has sacred worth, no exceptions. At HopeGateWay in Portland, faith communities are moving beyond hosting meetin…
At a brewery in Kennebunk, Police Chief Bob MacKenzie describes something radical: officers treating people in recovery with dignity. He's not alone. Across Maine, law enforcement are becoming recover…
Brian Townsend watched someone arrive at Amistad carrying years of disappointment from places where help meant hierarchy. Here, staff trained in peer support see visitors as experts on their own lives…
Lisa Hallee sat in a Portland Rotary Club meeting when she heard about the opioid epidemic ravaging Maine. The words landed hard: her nephew had died from an overdose months earlier. That moment spark…
A yoga teacher in Portland opens her studio doors free to people in recovery. A credit union helps someone rebuild their credit score. A gym owner reserves one night weekly for members seeking wellnes…
