As a Catalyst Life Services Peer Recovery Supporter, Eric Johnson demonstrates empathy to people in recovery. By sharing personal experiences, he shows other men that they can persevere through alcohol and drug treatment.
At age 49, Johnson is nearly 900 days sober. “Even when someone does finally get clean and sober, it’s a process to get better,” Mansfield native Johnson said. “We have a lot of other things to work on such as behaviors and thinking patterns. There has to be patience and compassion.”
The Peer Recovery Supporter program began through a grant from the S.N. and Ada Ford Fund. The program employs a total of five Certified Peer Recovery Supporters.
“Catalyst saw a need to help provide additional hope and support to clients struggling with substance use disorders and found it inspiring when individuals in recovery themselves provided that of hope and support,” said Peer Recovery Coach Coordinator Deanna Roberts, LSW, CDCA II.
The Peer Recovery Supporters have engaged with 100 clients since the program began in June 2017.
The 25-hour position allows Johnson to talk with and support the men in his care – which is usually 10 at a time. He sees men in the Catalyst Stabilization Unit or New Beginnings Alcohol & Drug Treatment Services. He also works with clients who engage in Outpatient Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment at the agency.
New Beginnings serves as “an interim living environment for individuals who are beginning their recovery from chemical dependency.” Adults ages 18 and older can receive treatment services for addiction to alcohol and/or drugs.
He shares his personal experiences with addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma. Johnson can relate to people in recovery with two powerful words – me too. The conversations focus on how the men can position themselves for a lifetime of recovery.
“I let these guys know that I am someone who has walked a similar path,” Johnson said. “I have come through it, but there was a point in addiction where I couldn’t go two hours.”
He also connects the men to 12-Step meetings and other community support programs. This allows clients to start building their sober support system, a key part in staying sober.
“Eric has been able to offer hope, guidance, and encouragement to males who have started their journey in recovery and males who are still struggling to achieve sobriety because of his past struggles,” Roberts said. “Eric has shown the males that recovery is manageable and possible!”
At New Beginnings, licensed chemical dependency professionals provide individual and group therapy sessions. For Johnson, individual therapy proved to be most beneficial.
Johnson said the therapy helped him process the abuse he experienced as a child, and the decades of alcohol and drug use that followed. The addiction caused him to have two failed marriages and estrangement from his mother and brother. He did experience 10 years of sobriety from 1996-2006, but he was lured back into using drugs and alcohol through a lucrative job in racing. He describes life before becoming sober again as “miserable.”
“I burned bridges and had no family left,” Johnson said. “I would do what I had to do to get what I needed. I would steal and rob people.”
Counseling helped Johnson face his past and make necessary behavioral changes.
“The sessions helped me to see that the abuse wasn’t my fault, but I carried a lot of harmful thought patterns and behaviors as a result,” Johnson said. “She gave me a lot of ways to change my behaviors. If I changed my behaviors, my thoughts would change.”
Johnson first received treatment at New Beginnings in 2011. Upon completing treatment he was able to work and maintain a residence, but he ended up relapsing after one year.
After his 90 days at New Beginnings in 2015, Eric continued with individual therapy.
The Catalyst Life Services Company, Progress Industries, helped Johnson find work at Mansfield Bag & Paper Co Inc.
“When I got to New Beginnings, I was basically unemployable,” Johnson said. “They found me a job, and I worked that job for one year.”
After his work at Mansfield Bag & Paper Co, he was able to complete his certification and transition to the Peer Recovery Supporter position.
“Slowly but surely things all started to fall into place,” Johnson said. “I really focused on my recovery. I think I finally realized that the common denomination in all my problems was me.”
The combination of individual therapy, a 12-Step program, community fellowships, and a job helped Johnson to recover after his 2015 stay at New Beginnings. Now, Johnson encourages community members to help stop stigma.
“There is still that stigma toward addicts and alcoholics,” Johnson said. “My belief is we have a disease. People need to realize that.”
He said his counselor at New Beginnings Jennifer Howe, LSW, advises family members and friends to hate the disease but love the addict.
“I believe everybody has to draw their own lines in the sand with those struggling with addiction,” Johnson said. “I just hope they never stop loving them.”
Johnson has reconciled with his mother and brother. He takes care of his mother and helps her manage her finances, after having stolen money from her years ago.
“They are the ones that let me back into their lives,” Johnson said. “They were caring enough to do that. I get to be a part of their lives today.”
Johnson feels he makes a difference and grows every day.
“I think it’s really cool how we take our worst habit and turn it into an asset,” he said. “I never would have thought that those things that tore me apart could be used to help somebody else.”
Many opportunities exist for community members to support the work of Catalyst Life Services.
“At Catalyst we are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community,” Catalyst Life Services Marketing and Development Director Melissa Drozda said. “Your donations go directly to services we offer such as Certified Peer Recovery Support. Look at the ripple effect of our services helping Eric, and he is now employed with us helping others in their recovery.”
Community members can learn more about Catalyst’s impact in individuals, families and the community during the 27th Annual Catalyst Rehab Telethon on Feb. 3 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Richland Mall. The telethon will air on WMFD, and Richland Source will host live Facebook events throughout the day.
“The telethon is our biggest fundraising event,” Drozda said. “It gives us the opportunity to provide these life changing services and to create services where we see gaps.”
To make a pledge on Feb. 3, call 419-529-5200. Make a pledge ANYTIME by calling 419-756-1133 or online at www.catalystlifeservices.org/donations.
