This blog is intended to be a safe space for anyone involved in the recovery community to share their experience, knowledge, or anything that could benefit you or anyone who visits the blog.
Plymouth County Outreach has been successful in many ways for many reasons, but I honestly believe one of the most beneficial aspects has been the partnerships throughout the county. I am hoping this blog can be an opportunity to deepen these connections.
I would like to kick things off with a personal introduction to make this post more than just words on a page. My name is Haley Kennedy and I am an individual recovering from a substance use disorder and PCO’s Lead Recovery Coach. Let me tell you that my journey to this place in my life was long and difficult at times, but it was well worth it and very rewarding. When I was in the depths of my active addiction I never would have imagined that this is where I would end up. The dreams and goals I had as a child were clouded by my disease. I was consumed with the obsession to use and the low self-esteem and shame that came along with my drug use. I knew that I didn’t want to continue living that way, and that it wasn’t what I had planned for my future but I struggled with committing myself to recovery.
I am beyond grateful that I finally found freedom from active addiction when I surrendered to my recovery process. I allowed myself the gift of self discovery which fosters a growing sense of self love and acceptance. It helped me to mend relationships, form new friendships and become a woman who lives with integrity. I had no idea that I was capable of these honest feelings because I lacked them before I picked up substances, and I robbed myself of them while I was actively using substances.
Gaining material things is not my motivator for continuing in my recovery but they are definitely a benefit of my process. I have been granted numerous opportunities and experiences that I couldn’t have expected years ago.
Someone once told me that when you have a job that you enjoy and are passionate about, then you never feel like you ‘have to work’. My role as Lead Recovery Coach is that job for me. I absolutely love what I do and my life experience is what I believe helps me be successful; it wasn’t years of school for a college degree like I had imagined as a kid. I feel as though all I had to do to get where I am now was relinquish my control over every aspect of my life, and do the next right thing for the next right reason. I literally feel like this job fell into my lap and it is exactly where I am intended to be.
