Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is a diverse group of dedicated community members united around the goal of reducing substance use in Lenawee County. LSAPC members work collaboratively to engage and educate the community in order to promote a healthy Lenawee.
Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Samantha Hollingsworth and Samantha and I are going to be talking a little bit about the month of September and that it is National Recovery month. And Samantha is a recovery coach at Pathways here in Adrian. And Samantha, thank you for taking time to come and talk with us for one thing.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Oh, no problem.
Kathy Williams: So let’s talk a little bit about your journey. You know, how did your journey start?
Samantha Hollingsworth: Okay. Well, I was the typical teenager that experimented with some alcohol and stuff my junior year on spring break, but my real issue with substances started when I had some back surgeries and with the pain medication. I followed the prescription and took things as they were prescribed in the beginning, and then as I became tolerant to it and stressful situations came about, I started dosing myself and taking more and more and more, and getting prescriptions from different doctors, and it just spiraled out of control, and more and more pills, and it just…
Kathy Williams: Yup. You know, not an uncommon story.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Right.
Kathy Williams: Really. I mean so many people fall down that same pathway, and it’s hard: when you’re in pain you grasp at anything to get you out of it.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Oh yes, yes.
Kathy Williams: And so, of course you’re out. You’re out of it now.
Samantha Hollingsworth: I’m out of it.
Kathy Williams: I know. I’m so excited that you shared with me you got your anniversary coming up.
Samantha Hollingsworth: I do. Saturday.
Kathy Williams: 7 years.
Samantha Hollingsworth: 7 years.
Kathy Williams: Congratulations to you.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Thank you.
Kathy Williams: What helped you decide then to get involved in becoming a coach, a recovery coach?
Samantha Hollingsworth: Well, I went through the system. I ended up getting in some trouble. I lost my children, and that was my rock bottom. I, I went to jail, probation, inpatient treatment. I left inpatient treatment, went into transitional housing.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Samantha Hollingsworth: A friend of mine got me into church, and I just knew I had to give back. I lost a sister to heroin and I knew that I just had to do something. It became… I started to see it was a epidemic and I just knew I could do something with it. And I started seeing everything around me, you know, all these people falling down to it. And, and I was like, “I know, I can do something”. And when I learned about there was classes you could take and become a recovery coach, I knew that was something I wanted to do.
Kathy Williams: Yeah, I think it… you know, it’s, it’s a blessing that you found that calling.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Yes.
Kathy Williams: Cuz so many people don’t, don’t find it. They aren’t able to pull themselves out of their spiral downhill. And so, I’m sure that you, you know, from going through the classes and everything you learned so much more about how you got where you were.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Yes. Yes. And I learned too that there was a reason I had to experience all that crud I went through.
Kathy Williams: Yeah, it’s a God thing.
Samantha Hollingsworth: It is, it is. It really is.
Kathy Williams: So, how do you, do you find that through your training and of course, through your own life experience, that brings a lot to the table when you’re trying to help someone else that’s going through it.
Samantha Hollingsworth: It does. It does. And it’s so rewarding because I’ve been at Pathways since before we opened the doors, since that building was nothing.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Samantha Hollingsworth: And I’m so thankful and I’ve watched it grow and I’ve been there since… I mean, when we first opened, it took months before the first person walked through the door.
Kathy Williams: Right.
Samantha Hollingsworth: And so, to see where we are now, it’s so, it’s, it’s so great to see. But just to sit around the table and to have consumers come in, and to see them where I used to be?
Kathy Williams: Right.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Just to share, you know, what you can be here too.
Kathy Williams: Right.
Samantha Hollingsworth: You can be a recovery coach, just look. You know, and just to give them that hope. And then they get that spark in their eyes.
Kathy Williams: Yes.
Samantha Hollingsworth: You know, you can be here. And they’re so much more comfortable talking to us. They’re not being judged in this environment and they’re just… they’re happy to be there. They constantly tell us “this is great”. It’s, it’s an environment where it’s like, you’re at home, it’s a living room setting. There’s a kitchen. They can shower. It’s just like, it’s so comfortable for them. And they, they love being there.
Kathy Williams: Well, and I would think even for people that are maybe not as extroverted, but you know, more introverted, they are learning things though, that they can also then share, inadvertently sometimes, with other people that are in the same situation. They may not think of themselves as coaches, but but you’re helping to inspire them, for sure.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Yes, for sure. And it’s so nice to have them come back in and just drop-in and let us know how they’re doing.
Kathy Williams: Right, Right. I love the, the follow-up
Samantha Hollingsworth: Yes.
Kathy Williams: You know, and then, of course, as they’re coming out of it, they’re proud of their accomplishments, and it’s nice to have someone else reinforcing that they, that they are accomplishing something one day at a time.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Yes. Yes, for sure.
Kathy Williams: So Samantha, remind our listeners then where Pathways is and when the hours of operation are.
Samantha Hollingsworth: We’re downtown across from Huntington Bank at 211 West Maumee.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Samantha Hollingsworth: We’re open Monday through Friday, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., and then Friday night when we open it’s 8 p.m. through Monday: we’re open 24/7. We also have a Facebook page that we’re pretty active on. You can see what time our SMART Recovery meetings are. You can also call. If no one answers if it’s during the downtime, then we returned your phone call as soon as we can.
Kathy Williams: Well Samantha, we thank you so much for coming and talking to us and wish you all the best in the future, really proud of your accomplishments.
Samantha Hollingsworth: Well thank you so much.
Kathy Williams: You’re welcome.
Woman’s Voice: Thank you for listening. This information has been provided by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. New messages air on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the audio tab on WLEN.com and listen and gather more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.
