Everyone deserves a chance to recover from addiction

By the time I found SMART Recovery®, I had “tried everything and nothing had worked”. I was at a loss and feeling helpless. But not for the reason you might think. I had joined a support group at the suggestion of friends. I really wanted help but after months of meetings, my son was still using opiates, I still had no idea how to talk to him, and my anxiety level was through the roof. I had a never-ending list of unanswered questions about addiction, and I still had no clear idea of how to give my son the level of support he needed, and no idea how to help myself.

So, like a lot of people, I did some Internet researching, and that’s how I discovered SMART Recovery. Its science-based program really resonated with me. The philosophies of self-empowerment and self-management sounded like exactly what I needed. I didn’t hesitate, I signed up for the facilitator training course, since that seemed like a great way to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible. And it worked! It gave me the tools I needed. I learned tools to handle the incredible stress I was feeling. And the SMART Family & Friends program taught me evidence-based skills to help me better support my son toward recovery.

I’m happy to say that today my son is in recovery and doing well, and I am also doing well, thanks to the very practical help that I found at SMART. Since I’ve been involved in SMART meetings, I’ve seen it help so many others and yet I know that there any millions of people who don’t have easy access to this wonderful program.

Because there is such a huge need for what SMART offers, I am passionate about wanting to give back and help SMART Recovery continue to expand so that it’s easily available for millions of people. And I’m doing just that, by facilitating weekly SMART Recovery meetings and weekly SMART Family & Friends meetings.

We know addiction can happen to anyone because it’s already happened to us or to a loved one. SMART Recovery was there for us, and it’s our turn to give back, ensuring SMART reaches those who need it now. In alleys, under bridges, in “bad,” “good” and gated communities, the addicted and their families and friends need our support. They need choices. They need the tools we use every day.

With your help, SMART Recovery isn’t going anywhere, it’s going everywhere!