Dexter's Story: From Addiction to Advocacy

 In this episode, Dexter shares his incredible journey from addiction, homelessness, and incarceration to long-term recovery and purpose. Arrested 52 times, with 17 felonies and six prison sentences, Dexter experienced the darkest depths of addiction. After decades of struggle, he found transformation through faith, community, and Atlanta Mission’s Potter’s House program. Now, as a vocational manager at Atlanta Mission, Dexter dedicates his life to helping others overcome addiction and rebuild their futures. This conversation is a testament to resilience, hope, and the power of second chances.  

Joining the discussion are subject matter experts Dan Phelan, a long-term recovery advocate and Atlanta Mission board member, and Emily Riblett, an alumna of My Sister’s House who now works in long-term recovery support. Together, they provide critical insights into addiction, recovery, and the power of lived experience. 

Transcript

Dexter_Full Episode_Audio 
 

Dexter: I've been arrested 52 times, I have 17 felonies, I've been imprisoned 6 times, been shot 4 times, been stabbed numerous times. 20 of those 42 years of my addiction was homelessness. I've slept in abandoned cars, eaten out of trash cans and dumpsters, and I've seen it all, yeah.  

Rachel: You shouldn't be alive, it sounds like. 

No,  

Dexter: I shouldn't be sitting here talking to you, only through God's grace and mercy.  

Rachel (2): Hi, welcome to Unseen Atlanta, the Atlanta Mission podcast, where we shine the light on some of the city's toughest issues. We do this by sharing true stories from real people who've experienced homelessness and addiction. 

We also talk to subject matter experts who give more context to some of these issues. I'm your host, Rachel Reynolds.  

Jonathan: And I'm Jonathan Miller, your co host.  

Rachel (2): And we have a special episode for you today. We are going to share three different stories with you of people who are living in long term recovery. 

So you're going to get to see people who are all along their phases of recovery. Some have been in recovery for 10 years. Some have been over 30 years, all having different experiences with it. But we really want you to see what it means to these people who are living in long term recovery. One of the individuals that we're going to be talking to today as our subject matter expert is a board member who's been on our board for many years now. 

And, um, I think you guys are going to really love hearing his story of why you decided to get involved with Atlanta mission and how that kind of connects to his story of living in recovery. So we're excited for this. Let's dive right in. Hey everybody. We are here with Dexter. Dexter. Spoiler alert. Dexter is on staff at Atlanta Mission, but is also living in long term recovery. 

So we just wanted to chat with you today. Dexter. Hey, thanks for being here. Well, thank you for having  

Dexter: me.  

Rachel (2): Yes. It's a good day for a good day, right?  

Dexter: It is. It is. Yes.  

Rachel (2): So tell us a little bit. Where'd you grow up?  

Dexter: Uh, actually I was born and raised here in Atlanta.  

Rachel (2): Okay. Okay.  

Dexter: Yeah. And I went to school here in Atlanta. 

Rachel: Okay.  

Dexter: Childhood was pretty, pretty cool. I had two really good, hardworking parents. Especially Mom. Mom was a church going woman, God fearing. Uh, Dad was a little bit on the wild side, you know? But Yeah. And I think that's where I got most of my  

Rachel (2): Yeah, how did you end up in addiction?  

Dexter: After I got out of the military. 

I served in the military. Okay. For eight years. And then when I got out of the military, I started hanging around the wrong people. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): In Atlanta?  

Dexter: Uh huh. Okay. Doing, doing the crazy things and, and so based on choices and decisions I made, started selling drugs, started using drugs, and got caught up in the vortex that lasted 42 years. 

Wow. Yeah.  

Jonathan: When did you figure out, okay, I have a problem and I need to get help?  

Rachel: Yeah.  

Jonathan: Oh boy.  

Dexter: Uh, well, I, I knew I had a problem after arrest number 52. Uh huh. I've been arrested 52 times. I have 17 felonies. I've been imprisoned six times, been shot four times, been stabbed numerous times. Twenty of those 42 years in my addiction was homelessness. 

I've slept in abandoned cars, eaten out of trash cans and dumpsters, and, uh, I've slept on park benches and All of that, yeah. Wow. So you've seen it all? I've seen it all. Yeah. My, my, uh, there's not too many stories I've heard that kind of, you  

Rachel: know. You shouldn't be alive, it sounds like. No,  

Dexter: I shouldn't be sitting here talking, you know, only, only through God's grace and mercy that I'm here. 

Rachel (2): So had you tried to get clean before coming to Potter's House?  

Dexter: I've tried. I've had a couple of places that I went to, but, you know, I wasn't ready.  

Rachel (2): Did you ever spend any time at the downtown shelter?  

Dexter: I've been through that a few times back in the day. I mean, you know, we're talking, we're talking nineties, 1990s. 

Okay. So like way back then. Yeah. So way back then. Yeah. Wow. Okay. So  

Rachel (2): you had, so you were familiar with Atlanta Mission. Okay.  

Dexter: Yeah. A friend of mine by the name of Don Reese, his brother Jim Reese, CEO, used to be CEO. That's how I found out about the Pardis House.  

Rachel: How did you know Don?  

Dexter: Don and I met here at the Pardis House. 

Rachel: Okay.  

Dexter: Yeah. From there, you know, we're best friends to this day.  

Rachel: Okay.  

Dexter: He's actually the godfather, my child, my first child. Oh, wow. Yeah, imagine that. Okay, so  

Rachel (2): what year do you come to Potter's house?  

Dexter: 2012. Okay. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): You go through the program?  

Dexter: I went through the program. I graduated. What  

Rachel (2): was it like when you first came in? 

Because you had had a, I mean, you'd had a life.  

Dexter: Mm hmm. It was, it was a big adjustment, you know. It was something that I really, I was ready. I was really ready to embrace the change. It wasn't easy because, you know, they say the old person is hard to die. Yeah. Yeah, so.  

Rachel (2): What made you ready at that point?  

Dexter: I wanted to change. 

And I had the spiritual journey when I was sitting in my jail cell last time. God really started revealing to me the spiritual side of addiction. You know, um, the demon that I fight. How he operates, um, the importance of being obedient to his word, you know, that was the key to everything. He says, even if it doesn't make sense, Dex, you gotta do what I tell you to do, it's for your own good. 

Yeah.  

Jonathan: So all through this time, God's been trying to reach you.  

Dexter: Oh yeah. He's been, he's been trying to reach me and I've been running just like Jonah. Yeah. Just running. Mm hmm. Yeah. And finally, you know, I got tired of running. And I'm glad I did. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): What was your experience like at Potter's House? Yeah. 

Dexter: The experience at the Potter's House was a very unique experience. I got a chance to meet some guys that, you know, going through the same thing I'm going through. And, you know, we all bonded. It was a good bond. And it impacted my life so much that I want to go back and help other people.  

Rachel (2): Yeah, you're back. 

Yeah,  

Dexter: I'm back. Yeah. Imagine that. So you, so you  

Rachel (2): graduate from the program. I  

Dexter: graduate from the program. Then what happens? Then I started doing prison ministry work.  

Rachel (2): Okay. You had your child.  

Dexter: Mm hmm. I had a child. Okay. Yeah. I do prison ministry work. I work, uh, for the court system.  

Okay.  

Dexter: Uh huh. I do a lot of volunteer work for the court system. 

I help guys, uh, judges actually sit in on cases and help judges decide whether or not a person gets jail time or Go to rehab.  

Rachel: Okay. Yeah.  

Dexter: Which is pretty neat. That is. Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. Is  

Rachel (2): it crazy that you're like, I was arrested 52 times and now I'm sitting here?  

Dexter: Mm hmm. That's  

Rachel (2): gotta be like, uh. It's  

Dexter: mind blowing. 

It really is because  

Rachel (2): You're blowing my mind. Yeah. Uh huh.  

Dexter: Yeah. Because if you would have told me 13 years ago I was going to be doing this kind of stuff, I probably would have looked at you like you were crazy. Yeah. Well,  

Rachel (2): it's just crazy how like, You could be doing a lot of other things, but then to be like right back there, it's such a full circle moment. 

It's like a total redemption moment.  

Dexter: Yeah. Well, I volunteered out there for seven years before I actually started working there. It was something that, you know, I knew it was part of my purpose. I knew God didn't pull me out of my addiction just to sit on it. You know, he says you got to go back and help other people. 

So that's what I did.  

Rachel (2): So tell us about coming back to the mission. What happened? How'd you get here?  

Dexter: Well, you know, like I said, I volunteered for about seven years, and then all of a sudden, we had an opening at the Potter's House, and I had a pretty good job, you know. Making a pretty good salary. And so when the opening came up, you know, it was a really tough decision because I was thinking about the lifestyle that I was living and the amount of money. 

And, you know, when you work for nonprofits, we're not the highest paid people in the world, you know, but you know, the people who do this type of work, you know, it's not about the money. Yeah, it's not. No. And so, you know, at the end of the day, it was like, you know, like Peter had to step out on the boat and onto the water and just, you know. 

Walk the Miracle. And so, all the things that I was fearful of, God has taken care of all that. And He just wanted me to be obedient and do what He  

Rachel (2): So what do you do at the Potter's House?  

Dexter: I started out as an advocate.  

Rachel (2): Okay.  
 

Dexter: The first year.  

Rachel (2): And what does that mean?  

Dexter: An advocate is like a person who kinda like, who's walked. 

And the shoes of recovery. I mean, the shoes of addiction and recovery. And you help another, you know, uh, person come through it. We guide them through the steps, the 12 steps and everything like that. More of helping, I would say, other people see the importance of, um, trying to recognize how a person will act. 

And in the midst of addiction, you know, because the mindset is kind of different, you know what I mean? So it's like, well, why is this person behaving this way? So, you know, the advocate's job is to get You know, other team members to see and realize that, hey, this is why this person is behaving this way. 

Yeah, you're really advocating  

Rachel (2): for them. Yeah, uh huh. For both parties.  

Dexter: Mm hmm. Yeah, so like, bridging the gap between the two. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): Why was it important, like, being an advocate, why was it important that you had had the experience? I think Like, it gives you instant credibility maybe? Yeah, I  

Dexter: think, I think that was all part of God's training. 

You know, His plan. You know, he was preparing me for this. And, and, uh, and so when that opening came up, you know, it was like, Oh wow, this is a no brainer. It was just me just, you know, walking away from being, being, not being fearful and, and taking that. Yeah. Because there's always something I've always wanted to do because I was voluntarily doing this for years. 

And so.  

Rachel (2): So what do you do now?  

Dexter: I'm the vocational manager now.  

Rachel (2): Okay. So  

Dexter: I kind of like oversee all the tasks that are out at the Potter's House, guys, the task house, keeping landscaping, kitchen, all those various things. Yeah. Also, I coordinate a lot of. Uh, of the driving that takes place out there, getting guys back and forth to work, making sure all this, all these moving pieces are, uh, uh, operating. 

You run it all. I run it all. Yeah, yeah. It's crazy. Sounds like Dexter's guy. Uh huh. Keeps the  

Rachel (2): place together. So what does, what does long term recovery mean to you?  

Dexter: Oh wow. Long term recovery to me is living one day at a time. You know, tomorrow's not promised. So, we just have to get through the day, and then once you string those days together, you know, just keep doing the next right thing, and the next right thing, and the next right thing. 

That's, that's long term, term recovery, and also turn around helping other people.  

Mm.  

Dexter: Mm. Yeah.  

Jonathan: I'm really  

Dexter: curious.  

Jonathan: I'm thinking about You in, in your jail cell after your 52nd arrest.  

Dexter: That's pretty amazing journey. 120 days. Wow. Yeah, but the things that, that he revealed to me was mind blowing. When I say mind blowing, I say mind blowing. 

Jonathan: Transformative experience.  

If  

Jonathan: you could go back to that person, to that Dexter, what would you say to  

Dexter: him? Oh, wow. That's a good question. First of all, man, aren't you glad you listened? You know, to what the Spirit was directing you to do back then, you know? Because looking back on it all now, I see the whole purpose behind it all, but I would remind that person that's just part of God's plan for your life. 

You couldn't see it at the time because we never see the end from the beginning, but He does.  

Jonathan: Sort  
 

Dexter: of a  

Jonathan: similar question, but I imagine there might be people listening who know someone in addiction or maybe in addiction themselves. What would you say to that person to help them take that first step towards recovery? 

Dexter: Toward recovery. It's the best life. You know, it is, living, living this type of life and coming from the bondage of addiction, you know, it's, it's, it's so liberating, it's, it's, it's freedom, you know, because I mean, when you think about it, that's basically what addiction is, you're in, you're in bondage. And so it's, it's, it's an exodus, you know, you're going out, you're coming out and you're going into the land of Canaan, right? 

You're building your own house, you're starting your business, you're doing all these things. Things that God intended for you to do. You know, I think, yeah, I think the lives of um, People in addiction, uh, it runs a very close parallel course with the children of Israel. They were in slavery and bondage too. 

Yeah. Mm hmm.  

Rachel (2): What does the future look like for you?  

Dexter: Whew. Uh, what I would like to do?  

Yeah.  

Dexter: Um, wow. I want to do some videos. Touching on them 120 days.  

Mm.  

Dexter: Of sitting in that jail cell and the things that God revealed to me, it was so much and I would like to do a video series on it. Sounds like a great book. 

Uh, yeah. Or something. Something, yeah. It sounds like  

Rachel (2): you want to continue to be in spaces where you can share your story with people.  

Dexter: I want to get this out all over the globe.  

Rachel (2): Yeah.  
 

Dexter: I, I really do. I want, I want people to understand that you don't have to live this way anymore. Yeah. Uh, and it's such a beautiful life. 

You know, away from everything else. Is that what you tell  

Rachel (2): the guys at the Potter's house?  

Dexter: All the time, yeah.  

Jonathan: I feel like when I asked that question, it was so easy. You, you had the answer because you've done it a million times.  

Dexter: Yeah.  

Rachel (2): So especially in the work that you do at Atlanta mission, so much of it is relationship building with clients,  

Dexter: right? 

Rachel (2): You talked about being an advocate for a period of time, but we've interviewed several guys, they've talked about you and the impact that you've had on them. Can you talk a little bit about that relationship?  

Dexter: Well, to me, it's important. For me to be transparent and be an open book because if they see it in me and see that I don't walk in any shame or guilt or self condemnation or anything like that, then so can they. 

I'm very protective of them, you know, when they, when, when I see that they're about to make some bad decisions or choices or whatever the case may be, or if they do make these choices and stuff like that, um, I'm fighting for them, you know, it never stops. You know, because I just, I want them to understand that this is such a better way to live. 

Yeah, and I love these guys. I love everybody that come through that program because I was there too. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): Yeah, I think that's, I think what your story really is. Um, points out for me is the power of seeing someone and saying, I know what you've been through and there's just that shared connection.  

Yeah.  

Rachel (2): I think that that's what I'm really getting from your story is like the more people that we have on staff here, particularly working up at the Potter's house, the better for the guys to be able to have someone who's farther along than them. 

Dexter: Yeah. Who's living the life. Yeah. They actually see it. Yeah. So they get.  

Rachel (2): You guys, you, you and so many others embody recovery.  

Dexter: Yep. Freedom and up mm-hmm.  

Rachel (2): And all those things.  

Dexter: Mm-hmm . Yeah. And just pursuing your dreams and your goals and stuff. Yeah. You know, because this is what God had for us. Had, had, he had this plan for us. 

Well, and so  

Rachel (2): many of them can't see. They, they, they only know, and you talked about this early in your story is I only knew 40 plus years of living like this. Yeah. Mm-hmm . I don't know what life is like before that. Yep. I have, I don't know what life is like after that. So then to be. You know, on day one of recovery at the potter's house to be on day 30, but to have say, Oh, look, Dexter has been living this for 13 years, like that's such a, that's gotta be so powerful for them, but also encouraging for you to be able to see that every day. 

Dexter: Yeah. Well, it gives me motivation to, you know, to stay on this path because I know that, you know, just like, you know, People who are pioneers, you know, they go through the brush and they cut everything down just so the path of those coming behind them can be a lot easier. That's an amazing  

Rachel (2): perspective. 

Well, we hope you guys enjoyed listening and getting to know Dexter. He's amazing. He's, uh, such a valued member of the Atlanta mission community, especially up at the Potter's house. No, I'm not too kind. Those are words we've heard  

Jonathan: from multiple people, so  

Rachel (2): you should feel really good about that. So. Um, we are going to bring you a subject matter expert next. 

We hope you continue to listen. You've made it this far into the episode. You're likely feeling the weight of these stories. Unseen Atlanta was created to reveal the raw and unfiltered realities faced by individuals in our city. Struggles with addiction, homelessness, and mental health. It's heavy, but don't stop now. 

We're about to turn the page to something life changing. Hope is coming. When someone steps through our doors, they step into an opportunity to start fresh. The transformation you're about to hear wouldn't be possible without our incredible partners like the Justin Landis Group. Whether you're buying or selling your home in Metro Atlanta, their unwavering commitment to exceptional service and authentic relationships sets them apart. 

Their compassion and dedication to our community fuels stories just like these. A heartfelt thank you to our partner and sponsor, Justin Landis group, because of your generosity, these stories don't end here. Now let's dive back into the episode. Wow. That was so powerful. Hearing Dexter share about his experiences and what it's like living in long term recovery and how that plays into his role here at Atlanta mission. 

And now we're going to talk to someone who's very familiar with Atlanta mission. She actually went through our program at my sister's house and is now almost 10 years. Clean and sober. So we cannot wait for you to hear Emily's story. In studio today, we have Emily Riblett and she is an alumni of the program at Atlanta Mission. 

She's almost 10 years. Yep, March. Clean March. But we want to bring her in, um, as a subject matter expert. She, um, works now in long term recovery work and also has lived experience. So we are so happy to have you here. It's so good to see you. It's so good to see you too. You look amazing.  

Emily: Thank you.  

Rachel (2): So tell us who you are. 

Emily: And, um, what do you do? Okay, so my name is Emily Riblett, and I'm a person in long term recovery. It's been over nine years that I haven't used any medication. I am a graduate of the My Sister's House program of the Atlanta Mission, the place literally saved my life. Today, I am a present mom. I'm a present grandmother. 

I'm a present daughter. I'm present for my siblings and for my partner. I am a homeowner. I went back to school after I left the mission and got my MBA. And I now work for the Georgia Council. For recovery, uh, we're a recovery community organization that's statewide across the state of Georgia. I've worked my way up and now I'm the, uh, assistant executive director of administration. 

So I do all things administration for the organization. So it's really an honor to be here and it's an honor to work for them and it's an honor to use my lived experience. Yeah,  

Rachel (2): I remember when you came to. My sister's house. You are a much different person. Yes.  

Emily: I was hopeless. I was broken and I was in really bad shape. 

Rachel (2): Physically bad shape. Yeah. Yeah. It was a totally, it's, it's so crazy to like look across from you and see the incredible transformation. You're now been in recovery almost 10 years. What was it like going through Atlanta mission?  

Emily: The mission was amazing. So I'll tell you the. The first thing, the first thing that hit me was that I walked in and I felt love, like there, there was something about, I had, we had to go to, at first we went to the, I was with a group of ladies that we came from another shelter and we went to the actual shelter, My sister's house and I said no we got to go down to Ethel Street So we went down to Ethel Street to the day shelter as soon as I walked in there It was just like everyone was so friendly and kind and I was just overwhelmed and it was warm in there It was freezing cold when when we were walking around it was February and I just knew that I was in the right place, and one of the ambassadors took me into an office and sat me down and handed me a women's devotional bible, which I still have, and asked me if I wanted to do something different. 

And I'm, I'm trying so hard not to cry. You can cry, I have tissues right here. But there was just something about that experience that just, I just knew that I was ready to do something that I hadn't done before. And I felt like I was in the right place, I felt like I was in a safe place to do it. And that was what started me on the right direction. 

And then being at the mission, it was hard, don't get me wrong, it's really hard to be with a whole group of women you don't know, who are all in different positions. Two hundred of your best friends. Right? It was so difficult, but the counselors were amazing, the staff were my favorite part. Every person that works for the mission was supportive and kind and generous and genuine. 

And I think that was a big deal. And just going through the steps of all the classes and then I got a sponsor and I was able to do 12 step meetings. So I was working on my spiritual. Walk. I was working on my physical health. I was working on my emotional health and all the things and so I was able to get all those supports in place so that I have success and I really think that's what did it for me was people helping me find what worked for me. 

Rachel (2): I remember one of the things when you were a client, you said, do you want it? So badly to have a great relationship with your daughter. Yeah,  

Emily: now I'm really gonna cry. So that's true, and I'm still working on that. My daughter and I have a really good relationship. My son and I are working on our relationship. 

My grandson has never seen me under the influence of anything. Wow. Yeah, you know, I mean it's something. You should be so proud of that. It's a really big deal. And so listen to this, the best part is my daughter and I are gonna meet and I get to bring my grandson back. And get to have him for almost a week. 

Oh, I just got chills. He's coming to Grandma's house.  

Rachel (2): Oh my God. That's amazing. Like, that's beyond. Oh, I know, right? Like, I mean, how, like. It's so great. Thank you. Could you even have imagined that that would be your life now? No.  

Emily: Not at all. Not at that time. I mean, I had done so much damage and I had so much shame and so much guilt and so many terrible emotions going on that I, I could not see where, where life would, would be today. 

Like, there was, there was not even. In the realm of possibilities, but to see our lives today, like they just came and visited, I go several times a year, we get together, we do things, we go to concerts, we just love on each other. It's really great. I mean,  

Rachel (2): it's  
 

Emily: just,  

Rachel (2): it's a total full circle moment. That's just such a amazing picture of redemption. 

Emily: Yeah.  

Rachel (2): Yeah. Thank you. It is. It's just like, I, it's really imprinted in my mind how you're like, this is the one thing I want. I want to be a mom. I want to be a present mom. I want to be a clean mom. And that's all I want. And then to see you now and to hear that you get to have your grandson for a week. Um, so let's transition a little bit and talk about What has life been like since the mission? 

I know it hasn't been easy and I know living in recovery is not easy. So can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. So, um, it, it was difficult.  

Emily: It's, it's difficult because I had a lot of legal trouble, which I think a lot is So other people can relate to that as well, you know, totally relate to that. Yeah. 

Right. So I had some things I had to deal with and it was very difficult for me to get hired. And that's one of the things like, so some of the barriers are of course, housing, housing, leaving the mission. It's like you're in a cocoon for, for a year. I was in a cocoon of this wonderful place, almost a year, I guess, nine months. 

And then what do you do? Right. So, and it rents extremely expensive. How do you find a place that's safe and affordable to live? And so that was a barrier, but I was able to work through that thanks to the connections I made at the mission to someone, my, my sponsor's sponsor who took me in and let me live with her while I worked a couple of jobs. 

So that was a challenge and that's how I overcame that. Then I found a roommate and I was able to get an apartment with a roommate and that was, I was able to work through that challenge. Some other challenges that I've had were, um, dealing with, with my felonies. So I had some, and they were completely drug related. 

Like, so I did have possession charges that I just didn't deal with. I ran from. And so I had to think about that every time I would try to apply for a job because that's going to come back on my background. And that was a real challenge. Luckily, Home Depot hired me and kept me. And I know my background check had to come back because it came back from Kroger when I worked at, when I was at the mission, I was working at Kroger and they had to fire me. 

I was making 7. 25 an hour, and they had to fire me, and I was like, well. Those are the consequences I had to deal with. So I was able to stay on at Home Depot. And then I found out about this program where I work now at the Georgia Council. And so I was able to do that training. And then I left Home Depot on very good terms. 

But to go into that, that position, which was more of a career for me, I was able to, because of that job, go back and do it. legal trouble. Wow. My sponsor went with me to Virginia where my charges were and I turned myself in and I was able to take care of that. But it's all because of the support I've had in recovery that I was able to go back and take care of all these things, you know, and, and continue. 

Working through these challenges, you know, and then I had a challenge of wanting to be a homeowner But it was very difficult because it's hard to you know, I've never but I've never done anything like that before right? so it's been there's been a lot of challenges, but because of the support I get from my peers and my mentors and You know spiritual mentors. 

I have my I have a lot of people in my life that have been really helpful.  

Rachel (2): Well, I think you're shining the light on something that we don't think about often. We're like, oh, somebody gets clean. Yay. They stay clean. But there's a lot of things that follow you. These legal issues follow you. Maybe it's an eviction that follows you. 

There's, it's not just staying clean. It's okay. How do I stay clean and also deal with all these challenges? So I think it's, I think it's good for everyone to hear that. It's not just. Roses and butterflies after.  

Jonathan: And it also, what really stands out to me, there weren't easy solutions to these problems, but the solution you did find was found through community. 

Yes.  

Jonathan: And that community seemed to, It started at the mission, but it didn't end at the mission. It just kept going and, and that's really what got you through to long term solutions for those problems.  

Emily: Yes. That's exactly what happened. As I built, started with a small community with, which was the staff at the mission who were my only, you know, real, that was my only support at that time. 

I didn't have any connection with any of my family when I came to the mission, none. And so, that was where it started, and then it grew. That's exactly what happened. And I grew my community. And the ladies would bring a 12 step meeting downstairs in the mission. And that's how I grew. And then once I found out, you know, I've, I've met people at my jobs and then I grew in that community and people that I could relate to at my places of employment. 

And then I found that I was at a 12 step fellowship. I love 12 step fellowship. I found out about cares, which is a certification. Where you use your lived experience to help other people. And then I was able to grow that community because I found out about it through them. I was able to go through the training. 

Then I became part of that cohort. Again, growing my community. And then I got hired by them. So, it's just been, yes, that's exactly how. And I totally believe in the therapeutic value of community because without it, You know, I, I, I wouldn't be where I am. I know that for a fact, but yes, absolutely.  

Rachel (2): Why is it important in long term recovery? 

to have people with lived experience involved in it?  

Emily: That's a great question. That's, that's kind of what we do at my place of business where the fact is not knocking any kind of clinical services because clinical services, it's more like a both and type of thing. We love clinical services too. Right. 

Yeah. Because I mean, there's so many different pathways to help someone get to where they need to be. in their recovery, right? That could be therapy, it could be, uh, peer support, which is basically, you can have peer support through 12 step fellowships, or you can do it through an org, like a non, another non profit organization. 

What we do as a recovery community organization is these are certified peer specialists who are trained to use their lived experience. So we, we talk about how to, We speak using non stigmatizing language, and we talk about how we can talk to each other and be mutually respectful and treat each other with dignity. 

I believe that having that lived experience helps me relate to other people because someone else might not know where I'm coming from. They won't understand what I've been through, and they may not intentionally have some kind of bias or have some kind of a judgment. And they don't even mean to do it. 

Sometimes it's implicit bias. People don't realize that they're casting judgment on somebody else because they don't know. Because like what the, you know, our brain science tells us, people don't know what they don't know. And they don't know that it is a brain disease. So they don't understand. They think that it's a moral failing. 

They believe that there's, it's a willpower issue. They believe that. You know, misinformation, and so I think that somebody with lived experience automatically understands where I'm coming from because they're, they've been there, they've kind of, they understand the similar legal problems, the similar family problems, the similar traumas, past traumas, you know, people that have seen things that I've seen. 

Someone else may never experience in their lifetime. Peer support and lived experience has a very unique quality in helping, helping somebody else. Well,  

Rachel (2): that's how we connect with each other. Yeah. I think, I'm totally going to butcher this, but I think it was C. S. Lewis, and he talks about how, there's some, there's some quote where he talks about the beginning of a friendship, or the beginning of a relationship. 

And it's when two people meet. They have something in common and they say, Oh, you too.  

Emily: Yes. And  

Rachel (2): it's like there's something so powerful in that, in, in meeting someone, I mean, it can be something little. It doesn't have to be addiction. Feeling that connection with another human being that they understand, they know, is so powerful because that's the point of relationship. 

Yeah.  

Emily: And we do these things that are in our training called a dyad. And that's what we ask. We say, we say, I'm dyad. What helped you come back from something difficult? So whether you've had any experience with substance use or not, what helped you come back from something difficult? Well, was it faith? Was it family? 

Was it having a sense of purpose? Was it, and you'd be amazed. You have these little conversations between two people that are only like two minutes apart. Long where one person is really quiet and the other person shares, and then that person's quiet and then the other person shares and it's amazing what you learn that you have in common with that person. 

They're, they could both be moms like you and our moms. Yeah. We're my friends. Yeah. Right. We could, it could be that we're, you know, homeowners. It could be that we're we, we like to knit or we, or we're readers like Bonnie, you know? Yeah. We're read, we like to read there. It could be anything, but just having that connection. 

Helps build on a relationship, right, on that connection, though it, substance use doesn't even have to come into it. No, it doesn't. Right, but it's, it's that, having that connection just like you said, yeah.  

Jonathan: So I'm really curious, as someone with lived experience in recovery and working in recovery, what are some challenges that you've faced? 

experienced. How do you protect yourself? I'm sure it can be triggering at times being in that space.  

Emily: That's a great question. So we do, and that's another reason why we heavily train all of our certified coaches because, because of that. Because they call that compassion fatigue and that can, it's a definite reality. 

What we do for our folks is we, We ask them to go out to other recovery community organizations and get support from other folks that are doing the work so they can sit together and kind of debrief and kind of, you know, work through some of that stuff. We also incorporate wellness days. It's our calendar so that folks can literally just unplug. 

And the big thing is we try to meet people where they're at. And that is either the people that we serve or our employees. And we have meetings about this all the time, Jonathan. That's a really good point because we're, we're, we talk about that because these are folks that are helping people get through really difficult times and you never know when that trauma is going to move over into you or bring up trauma that you've had in your past. 

What we do at our organization, we're a statewide recovery community organization, so we bring everybody together that works at these other agencies across the state, and we help support them, whatever that looks like. And, and those are things that come up all the time. We also help try to train folks on how to supervise other peers, because that's something that we found that if somebody has, uh, good supervision, they know how to handle things like that. 

Interesting.  

Jonathan: And as we wrap up, could you just tell us a little bit about the Georgia council for recovery and how people can find you and get involved?  

Emily: Yeah. So gc4recovery. org. We'll put it in the show notes. Okay. And we're a, like I said, we're a statewide recovery community organization. We have a, we do four things. 

Our mission is to increase the impact of recovery in communities through Advocacy, education, training, and peer recovery support services. So what, what we do is we provide this training called CARES. It's a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist. I know we love acronyms. So it's a certified peer specialist for addictive disease. 

They have one for mental health as well. That's a sister organization. But for, for what we do, it's for addictive disease or substance use. And that's a 40 hour training. It's free. All of our programs are free, and recovery community organization services are all free, um, because they're grant funded by DBHDD and other, other agencies help fund, uh, universities and things like that. 

We get a lot of grant funds. The training helps one person use their lived experience to help someone else, and there are jobs in the field for certified peer specialists. If you know anybody who's, might have two years of, of, uh, Abstinence based recovery, and that includes medication. If somebody uses medication to support their recovery, they're welcome to apply for CARES as well. 

Rachel (2): Okay, well, thank you so much, Emily, for being here. I just, I love you. I am so proud of you. You're such an advocate, not only for Atlanta Mission, you're like the best advocate for Atlanta Mission, um, but you're also such an advocate for those in recovery. And, um, I hope that our listeners just got to see what an amazing human Emily is and the work that she's doing. 

And An amazing grandma.  

Yeah. I  

Rachel (2): mean, come on, let's just say goals. Um, so we hope you enjoyed that and we hope you really got to understand what it's like living in long term recovery, but also what it's like for someone who is, has had lived experience. And, um, thank you so much for being here. We hope you enjoyed that. 

story. We want to give a little bit more context to what it's like living a life of recovery. So today we have Dan Phelan with us. He's a board member here at Atlanta Mission and has been living in recovery for over 30 years. And we brought him on as a subject matter expert to talk about what that's like. 

So we'll start a little bit with, tell us where are you from, kind of where you grow up, where you grew up, all that.  

Dan: Okay. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Till 1987 when I came down to Atlanta to go into inpatient treatment.  

Rachel (2): Tell us a little bit about how you first started getting into drinking. 

Dan: I started drinking when I was 17 years old. I went to an all boys Catholic high school and uh, that's what we did.  

Rachel (2): And was it like, did your family know about it? What was your home life like?  

Dan: My parents were World War II parents. And so drinking, smoking cigarettes, uh, is just, What that particular generation did and so, you know, alcohol was a part of our family life But it my parents weren't alcoholics or it wasn't I had a good childhood There was nothing horrible about we I grew up in a very wealthy town and we were very unwealthy Started drinking probably I was 17 years old. 

I got sober in 1987 I was 37 years old and for the last five to ten years. I was really just bouncing off the bottom You My, um, my life was a living hell. It really was. It doesn't get worse than that. So I, um, through the help of friends and family, uh, I came down to Atlanta to go into, uh, inpatient treatment, which I did at Charter Peachtree Hospital here in Atlanta. 

Then after that, I decided to stay, uh, in recovery programs. So I, uh, went into an organization called MAR, which was a halfway house program. Um, environment, stayed at Mara for nine months and decided never to, uh, decided to stay here and not go back to Detroit.  

Rachel (2): Gotcha. Now, you say you were bouncing off the bottom. 

What was the point where you realized you needed recovery?  

Dan: I knew I needed recovery for a long time. It was pulling the plug on myself that was impossible for me. Came, it was really the grace of God, you know, a lot of things came together at the same time. I had resigned, you know, I knew I was in a lot of trouble. 

I just didn't know what to do about it. I really didn't. So they said, you need to go into recovery. I said, fine. But I, I didn't know what that meant. I had no idea what that meant.  

Jonathan: Tell us a little bit more about the community that you had around you at during this time that helped guide you towards recovery, towards a better, healthy life. 

Dan: At that time, back in Detroit, when, you know, my parents said, you need to do something about your situation, uh, because we don't know what to do. Those poor people had no idea what to do. I had no idea what to do, so I went and saw a psychiatrist, somebody introduced me to, and he said, you need to go into a treatment. 

I said, okay. I mean, at that point, I had surrendered, it was like, whatever. And I said, I had no idea what going into treatment meant, I had no idea. But I got on a plane, flew down, went into Charter of Peachford, they kind of threw me in there, locked the door, and here I am today.  

Rachel (2): So yeah, what was it like when you kind of stepped through those doors? 

Dan: It was, boy, what am I getting myself into? I mean, I had surrendered to the fact that I couldn't control my drug and alcohol use, but I didn't know what the solution was. I really didn't know what the solution was. But you know, I, I had really resigned myself to whatever they told me to do. That's what I'm going to do. 

And it worked.  

Jonathan: Was there any point in your, your journey where you're like, this is too much, I want to quit. How do I get out? Did that ever go through your mind? I don't know.  

Dan: I, uh, no, it was, it was kind of a respite, uh, you know, I didn't have to do drugs every day. What a gift. I didn't have to drink every day. 

That was a big gift. You know, and I, I, I kind of had resigned myself that my, I'm just going to have a miserable life, you know, but I don't care because I'm not going to have to drink and drug every day anymore. I was resigned to that fact. Well, it's really the opposite, you know.  

Rachel (2): So it felt like relief. 

Dan: Yes, it did. Felt like relief. And I felt like I was in a protected environment, you know, for as long as I was there, which was a relief.  

Rachel (2): Yeah. Did you feel like you had to be protected from yourself?  

Dan: Yes, yeah, I would say yes. And, you know, I had, you know, I had made a mess of my life. So I had a lot of messes back up in Detroit that I didn't have to deal with every day. 

That was a nice relief.  

Rachel (2): So tell us a little bit about the 12 Step Recovery Program. What does it mean to you? Why is it important?  

Jonathan: And for our listeners who may not even know what 12 steps is, or maybe they've heard of it and they're like, I don't really know what the first step is, like sort of walk us through. 

Dan: So, uh, Alcoholics Anonymous, uh, operates on a, on a program called the 12 Steps of Recovery. And you start at step one, you're, you never get totally through them, but you go, it's during your recovery, you get from one to 12. And that's been really helpful for you. Oh, it's, it's the fabric of my life, you know. 

It's just part of my life now. People think, oh, what a chore, or this would be overbearing, or I can't do that. It's, it's a great way to live. It's an awesome way to live.  

Rachel (2): What are some of the most helpful pieces of it that you still think about daily?  

Dan: Well, to realize that it's totally God centered. It's probably the biggest. 

Attribute of it. I mean, the things I've done, I couldn't have done, you know, I'm clear. I couldn't have done it on my own. It was a gift. It was a gift of grace. It really was.  

Rachel (2): And you're still, you're still active in the 12 step program.  

Dan: I go to at least one meeting a week. You know, a lot of my friends are, are, Um, in my meetings, you know, their wives and my wife, we do, we're socially, we're, you know. 

Rachel (2): So you've built a community around it. We  

Dan: build a  

Jonathan: big community. So I want to jump back to your time in inpatient treatment. As you were exiting that program, you're walking out of the doors. How did you feel? Were you nervous about re entry into the real world? Oh my  

Dan: goodness. I, it was like, I, I got an apartment here in Atlanta, had my furniture from Detroit shipped down there, outfitted, and I walked into the apartment and I said, so here I am, same furniture, what's different? 

I was terrified.  

I was, you  

Dan: know, I had, okay, now what? Now what, Dan? Now what are we going to do? That was momentary. Yeah, I was starting a new life a whole  

Jonathan: new life. What was the biggest piece of that first year outside of treatment? What kept you going and kept you on track?  

Dan: You know, well, I had to find a job. 

I was a lawyer and I had to find a job. So I started interviewing and you go through the process of well, do I tell them? I'm in recovery. Do I not tell them? It was funny, I mean, you tell somebody in a job interview you're in the recovery, and their reaction is always like, Why are you telling me this? 

What am I supposed to do with that information? You know, so I had to figure out I would have been  

Rachel (2): like, tell me more.  

Dan: It was like, It was like, how do we deal with this? You know, so I had to learn how to I can't handle a job interview without, you know, really throwing up all over myself.  

Rachel (2): Yeah. So it was, it was a process of, cause I think that's the thing with so many of our clients is they go through our program. 

They feel very equipped when they're in the walls of Atlanta mission, but it's scary when you leave because they haven't lived in recovery outside of Atlanta mission. And so long, what would you say to someone as they're, they're stepping out into the world after they've gone through a program, they feel different. 

What would you say to them?  

Dan: Well, you still have your, now you have your program. I mean, you're going through all the emotions, all of the trials and tribulations of life, but now you have a way to deal with it. Without drugs or alcohol or all the baggage of the past. It's a transformation. It's truly a transformation. 

And it's, you know, and you're given the tools of, you know, how to deal with it. So, you know, I've had plenty of ups and downs, believe me. I was at a place where it doesn't get any worse to a place today where it doesn't get much better.  

Rachel (2): Yeah.  
 

Dan: That's amazing.  

Rachel (2): He was talking before about we, before getting on the set, he has two grandkids. 

So I'm sure that helps you keep going.  

Dan: Yes, it does. Yeah. That's the way that, you know, talk about the best of all things. That's the, that's the greatest.  

Rachel (2): Yeah. So tell us a little bit about you got involved at Atlanta Mission. Why did you get involved here?  

Dan: You know, somewhere along the line. I knew something was missing in my recovery. 

Everything's going well, I'm doing well at my job, I'm, you know, met my wife, I, you know, everybody, I'm just going, what's missing? And I went back to the guy who ran MAR, the long term recovery program I was in, and I told him how I was feeling. I said, everything's good, but I feel like I'm missing something. 

And he goes, well, how much money you giving? To who? How? To what? That's something I didn't know how to do.  

Wow. I didn't know how to,  

Dan: you know, it's just, I don't think that's an acquired, you know, an acquired taste. I think you have to learn how to give. I said, well, I'm, Not very good at that. He says, well, you need to get good at that. 

That's for the first time in my life I learned the importance of giving. I wouldn't expect anybody to believe this, but, you know, I was starting to do well in my career. When I started giving money away, I skyrocketed. So the question then becomes, where do you give? You know, I love the mission because of what it does, and, and the recovery aspect of the mission was important to me. 

So I have to have a charity that has some recovery aspect to it. The mission's perfect. I'm clear to this day that I would not be who I am and have what I have without. My recovery being the foundation of that.  

Rachel (2): We talk a lot about with homelessness, a lot of misconceptions around homelessness are just give someone a job. 

Just give someone a home. And if you give them those things, those physical things, then They'll be fine. But we know that here at the Mission that so much of what has caused the homelessness is root causes, which could be trauma, mental health, addiction. So can you talk a little bit about why it's not just someone who's living in addiction, it's not just about giving them a job and a place to stay? 

Dan: Yeah, that's one of the things I was most interested in when I got associated with the How are they dealing with the recovery aspect? If you don't deal with the addiction problem, you're not going to deal with any of the other problems.  

Mm hmm.  

Dan: It might be, you might have a temporary fix. You might take somebody off the street, put them in a mansion in Buckhead. 

He, he solved his homeless problem. You haven't solved his life problem whatsoever, and he's going to be back on the street. So it was important to me that, you know, the, the mission had a program. It does have a program. It realizes What recovery means in, in somebody's life, if you're going to transform that life. 

That's one of the reasons I've associated myself with the mission. Your life has  

Jonathan: been full of twists and turns and you mentioned you were at the bottom of bottoms, but life looked different for you after recovery. Um, you, you had mentioned transformation, right? Um, tell us a little bit about, What life was like after recovery, what did you end up doing? 

Um, what career path did you end up taking?  

Dan: Let me reframe the question a little way. There's no after recovery. Recovery is, is day in, day out and will be for the rest of my life. So, it was a trans, it was truly a God given transformation. Because, you know, I didn't even know what alcoholism, which, that's weird, I didn't know what alcoholism was. 

I didn't know what I was getting into when I went into treatment. And I didn't know that I'd be signing up for a long term program. But I'm glad I did. I'm sure glad I did.  

Rachel (2): And you're a lawyer?  

Dan: I'm a lawyer. Okay. I was, uh.  

Rachel (2): Previously you were too?  

Dan: Yeah.  

Rachel (2): Okay. I  

Dan: was, I was a lawyer in the Detroit area for 10 years or so before I came down to Atlanta. 

I came down to Atlanta to go into treatment. I'm fully expecting to go back and kind of pick up where I left off without drinking and drugging anymore.  

Jonathan: I'm imagining that we might have a listener out there who maybe recognizes a need for recovery or maybe they're a family member of someone who's struggling with alcoholism or addiction. 

What advice would you give someone who just needs an extra push to take that first step? I  

Dan: think he That the important thing in this I didn't know is there is a way out. There is a solution I really had no idea where where I was going or what I was gonna do I just knew I couldn't drink and drug anymore. 

I that's the only thing I knew I didn't know that there was such a thing as a recovery program or the 12 steps or alcoholics anonymous or any of that stuff I learned all that stuff. I think If somebody had said earlier on in my life, Dan, there is a way out. Uh, would have saved me a lot of years of heartache, I'll tell you. 

There is hope. There is  

Jonathan: hope. There is always hope. There is hope. And that's why we have an addiction recovery program called the Potter's House for men recovering from addiction. Dan, you've been to the Potter's House, right? It's the first place I went when  

Dan: I, you know, after that Thanksgiving that I met Jim Reese, the first place I went was to the Potter House because I was in recovery. 

I thought that was the perfect place for me. So I wanted to know all about it. It's an amazing place.  

Rachel (2): Yeah. What do you think of it? I love it.  

Dan: It's an absolutely beautiful place. So I went up there the first day and, uh, who, I don't even remember the gentleman who ran the prodder house at the time. He said, why don't you give the sermon today, Dan? 

Oh, okay.  

Dan: Let's jump right in. Oh, were you  

Rachel (2): prepared?  

Dan: Heck no.  

Jonathan: Do you remember what you shared?  

Rachel (2): Yeah. What did you talk about?  

Dan: I just talked about, you know, where I'd been and where I'm going. You know, where I was today and where I was going.  

Jonathan: Wow. And what was the reaction? Did anyone react? You  

Dan: know, there's a brotherhood. 

It was instant bonding  

Rachel (2): with friends  

Jonathan: at  
 

Dan: Potterhouse. Yeah.  

Rachel (2): When we were talking to them a couple of weeks ago, they said that's one of the best things for them to see is people who've been in long term recovery because it's so encouraging to them to see it because we have so many people on staff who have been in it and they're like, it really helps me see. 

Into the future when it's so hard to see into the future. Thank you so much for your involvement with the mission. We're so grateful that you were taking the time out to do this today with us.  

Dan: Hey, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. Yes, of course. Thank you.  

Rachel (2): We really hope that you guys got something out of the stories that you heard today. 

We hope that this helped you. somebody who may have someone who's struggling with addiction or is in recovery themselves. Don't  

Jonathan: you think? And just to, to give insight to people who maybe you don't have any context and you're just like, Hey, what, what is this like? And what can I do to help? Yeah. Right. 

Rachel (2): Well, and I feel like Dan is such a great, just representation of like what life can look like. in long term recovery. He's a lawyer now. He has kids, grandkids. It doesn't always have to be that way. And I think he said something so great of, um, there's a way out.  

Jonathan: There's a way out. There's hope. Um, there's a life waiting to be discovered. 

Rachel (2): So we hope to see you guys next time.  

Tensley: Thank you so much for listening and engaging with these challenging, yet vital conversations about mental health, addiction, homelessness, and trauma in our city. Facing these issues head on is how we ignite real transformation in Atlanta. Thank you to our season sponsor, the Scott Pryor Law Group. 

The transformation you've heard wouldn't be possible without incredible partners like the Scott Pryor Law Group, personal injury and accident attorneys. Their compassion and dedication to our community fuels stories of transformation just like these. If you are injured in a semi truck or car accident, call the Scott Pryor Law Group. 

As a U. S. Marine, we fight and win for you. Our clients are family for life. We handle all types of injuries, you focus on healing, and we handle the rest. Now, if today's episode inspired you to take the next step, we would love to invite you to join the work that God is doing here. There are two really impactful ways for you to get involved. 

First, you can give financially to help us continue the work you heard about today. Second, you can volunteer your time by serving at one of our campuses. You can find all the ways to give and get involved at atlantamission. org. Thank you again for being part of this journey. you Please join us next time as we uncover more powerful stories and transformation.