For people dealing with substance addictions, recovery is a lifelong process that requires many types of support. In addition to counseling, mental healthcare, and medical support, many people find peer support to be a valuable part of their recovery.
One-Eighty provides Peer Recovery Coaches for people in recovery from addiction. According to the One-Eighty website, “Recovery coaches have lived experience and first-hand knowledge of dealing with and overcoming many of life’s challenges, and openly share their personal stories of struggle and success to help others on their journey to recovery. Specialists speak openly about their struggles and experiences on their road to recovery.” Peer Recovery Supporters in Ohio undergo extensive training to participate in the program. Peer support provides people in recovery with a coach who can genuinely empathize with their experiences and struggles.
Peer Recovery Coaches take the work that a person has done in a clinical setting and help them translate it into real life. They have unique insight into the challenges faced by people in recovery, having personally experienced changing their environment, social circle, and behavior to facilitate a substance-free life. Peer Recovery Coaches are a living example of how effective treatment can be over time, and they provide hope, along with pragmatic advice, for those they support. Through their training, Peer Recovery Coaches know how to assist people who have experienced trauma, and are able to provide a variety of pathways for recovery for those they work with.
Furthermore, because people in recovery often have to dramatically change their friend groups or social networks that previously enabled their addiction, a Peer Recovery Coach can fill an important social role. They can act as a friend and also connect a person in recovery to other social groups and substance-free activities. SAMHSA refers to this as “bring[ing] recovery to Main Street.” These social activities can help people reorient themselves to interacting in a substance-free environment and practice new social skills.
If you or someone you know would benefit from peer support in recovering from alcohol or drug addiction, contact One-Eighty at (330) 464-1423. If you are interested in becoming a Certified Peer Recovery Supporter, visit the Peer Recovery Support page of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Wayne/Holmes Mental Health & Recovery Board
We aim to improve awareness of and access to mental health and addiction treatment and prevention services in Wayne & Holmes Counties.
We provide leadership, support, and funding to community partners and agencies in the delivery of mental health and addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
Our agencies provide addiction treatment programs, mental health counseling, suicide prevention programming, and more! Experience you can trust.