I Am One of Them: Why I’m Speaking Out to Defend SAMHSA’s Work

I’ve been quiet too long. What’s happening to SAMHSA right now? It hurts. It’s personal.

I’m not just a SAMHSA grant writer.

I’m not just a consultant for RCOs across the country.

I’m a person in recovery whose life was changed by a SAMHSA-funded organization in Utah.

That RCO didn’t just offer me services—it gave me hope.

It gave me community. It helped me find my voice.

It taught me how to speak about recovery without shame.

It helped me rebuild my life—and I wouldn’t be here without it.

And I’m not the only one.

I’ve seen the power of SAMHSA-funded programs in Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, Nevada, Nebraska, DC - all over the nation!!

I’ve watched peers reverse overdoses. I’ve watched communities come alive. I’ve seen people walk in homeless from the streets and walk out with purpose.

I know the people behind SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery. They are NOT bureaucrats. They are people with lived experience. People who crawled out of addiction, incarceration, trauma—just like me—and now fight every day to help others.

Do we need to evaluate funding? Sure. Could systems improve? Of course. But demonizing this work? Attacking the people who are saving lives? That is NOT the answer.

Reform is one thing. Erasure is another. You want to audit? Fine. You want to reimagine? Great. But don’t destroy what has kept people like me alive.

I am ONE of them. I am a person radically transformed by SAMHSA’s work. And I will not stay silent while this goes down.

Because recovery is real. Because our stories matter. Because we recover out loud. 💙

📣 Please help me share this post. The more our voices are amplified, the more likely the media and decision-makers will hear us. They need to know these programs are saving lives—and we have the stories to prove it.

#IAmOneOfThem #StandWithSAMHSA #WeRecoverOutLoud #FundRecovery #PeopleOverPolitics #PeerSupportSavesLives