Voices of Hope is sharing real stories of real people in recovery from behavioral health disorders as part of a campaign against stigma in our community. Brittany is a Peer Recovery Specialist who works with people in recovery who are pursuing the Maryland Peer Recovery Support Specialist credential through Voices of Hope. We are blessed to have her with us!

My name is Brittany.  I am a US veteran.  I am not an addict.  But had my life been the slightest bit different I could be.  Had I grown up in an environment where it was easily accessible, had I been injured and prescribed pain pills, had the tiniest thing been different I could have been an addict. I am writing this because it could have been me.  

I live with mental illness.  

It could have been me taking an extra prescribed pain pill to not only get rid of physical pain but the emotional pain I live with. It could have been me turning to street drugs because the pain meds weren’t “fixing” it anymore.  That overdose death could have been me because I was suicidal.  Because my mental illness told me the people around me would be better off without me.  My children, my husband…..

Addicts are people worth saving.  And addicts can recover.  I have seen it with my own eyes.  I am an individual in recovery from mental illness.  I have come a long way in my life to be the person I am today.  And I have chosen to use every day grateful I am alive.  I am a voice for those who aren’t strong enough to have one.