Recovery Project Coordinator uses experience teaching to help end the stigma

Having lost a loved one to a drug overdose, Emily joined Recovery Corps because she wanted to contribute to ending the stigma and saving lives. “Instead of just turning a blind eye, let’s look at how we can support people with substance use disorder and help them get further in the right direction if that’s something they want to do,” she says. 

As a Recovery Project Coordinator, Emily’s service focuses on supporting her site’s ongoing projects so they can help more people. She often takes shifts at a local warming house for people experiencing homelessness or at daytime events that promote recovery. There, she provides her community with tests and other supplies that slow the spread of blood-borne infections caused by sharing syringes, like HIV, Hepatitis C, and syphilis. These supplies reduce the harm that people may face while using. 

“I can see different pockets of how we are intertwined with the community, how we’re making positive changes, how we’re ending stigmas,” she says. “It’s a whole spectrum, and it’s incredibly rewarding, incredibly valuable.” 

As a prior elementary school teacher, educating others is a passion of hers. With Recovery Corps’ personalized service plans, Emily’s site could cater her role to suit her skills. Early in her term, she visited retirement homes to break stigmas behind recovery and provide naloxone trainings, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. Recently, she presented in a heath class at the school where she used to teach as well as at a professional development seminar for teachers. 

“It’s just a conversation. That’s the starting point,” she says. “I love it. I get to meet so many different people every day. I reflect all the time on what I’m accomplishing every day, and I don’t always see it, but then we have these events. It’s during those times that I get to see the impact our organization makes on the community.” 

Overall, Emily’s favorite part is the opportunity to support others and meet them with compassion. “If I had to pick one thing that’s the most rewarding, it’s being a person in the office smiling at clients and saying, ‘Hey, what do you need? How can I help you?’ It’s powerful to watch how meeting somebody with love rather than guilt and shame changed the entire interaction,” she says. 

After completing her service with Recovery Corps, Emily hopes to continue working in the recovery sector and dreams of launching a recovery organization for youth.   

“I definitely found a passion that I think always resided. I just didn’t have the capacity or the resources to expand it,” she says. “Now I have different outlets and doors that are opening. I absolutely love what Recovery Corps does, and I’ve seen so many benefits of AmeriCorps, putting people in really important positions and fields.” 

If you would like to make an impact in your community with Recovery Corps, visit RecoveryCorps.US. Apply by August 9 to start serving in late August!