As part of our campaign to eliminate stigma, we are sharing real stories of real people in recovery in our community. Scooter has worked with Voices of Hope for over a year and has been a positive force for families in Cecil County for much longer. Thank you for all you do, Scooter!

My name, Scooter Ellerbe. My story, probably too long to tell you now so I’ll sum it up. When I first stumbled into Cecil County in 1996, I was already considered an alcoholic. But I felt comfortable because of the love and respect that a group of people that lived and hung out on Booth St. showed me. Even though my addiction progressed and I began to experiment with other drugs, I was still treated like family. This community has seen me at my worst and still made me feel worth something, even when I felt like I wasn’t. My addictions caused me to lose a lot and miss out on a lot. It took for me to lose my family and my freedom to be able to see things clear.

Now God has given me the tools to keep my mind focused on what’s important to me. Which is my family and the well being of the people in my community. Voices of Hope has offered me a career path and it just so happened to be exactly what God wanted for me, to give back to the community that gave to me during my times of struggle. Now I offer that same support to our entire community and any communities surrounding us. Voices also offers coordination to treatment as well as after care coordination, meetings, peer to peer support and a lot more to come. I love this community and I know you all do as well. It only takes a moment to make a change for the better and I, as well as my Peers at Voices, work very hard to make sure our community knows that we are here to support, encourage and love you all. And if you are ready for that change, ready for that support or ready to step up and help rebuild our community, your opportunity is waiting for you at Voices of Hope. So Much Love to you all (Scooter).