A Life-Changing Opportunity

Early one August morning in 2018, while watching the news, I heard the reporter talking about recovery coaching coming to Maine. I listened closely and quickly jotted down notes, as I’d heard about this happening in other states for over a year and had been waiting to see when it would happen here. Denise Black and Terri Woodruff from Healthy Acadia were interviewed during this broadcast. They were talking about the Recovery Coach Academy (RCA), what it is, and how to get involved. I decided to sign up.

I had been seeing a severe lack of peer support for people on Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in my community and wanted to do everything that I could to change that. I took this desire to make an impact with me into the Recovery Coach Academy. I was so excited after completing my training that I signed up with Healthy Acadia as a volunteer community recovery coach.

After a few months of coaching, I found out that I was pregnant. Throughout dealing with a difficult pregnancy, the premature birth of my daughter, and the many stressful months spent in NICU with her, I kept coaching people in recovery. In December 2019, I signed up as a Healthy Acadia RecoveryCorps member and started working with MAT patients and their families in a clinical setting. I knew I had found where I was meant to be. I used my AmeriCorps education award to enroll in school. Less than one year (and a lot of long hours and sleepless nights) later, I graduated with a 3.95 GPA. Soon after, I passed my exam and became a certified drug and alcohol counselor!

Being a recovery coach for Healthy Acadia was an opportunity to find my way into a career that I am passionate about. I am forever grateful. 

- Danielle Hopkins, AmeriCorps service member - Maine RecoveryCorps (2019-2020)