By Alissa Ibarra
Peer Recovery Supporter, Behavioral Health Services – Blanchard Valley Health System
My name is Alissa, and I am an addict and alcoholic in recovery. Today, I work as a peer recovery supporter, using my lived experience with addiction to help others find a path toward healing. When I was younger, I believed that people addicted to drugs could quit if they wanted to. That belief changed when I experienced addiction firsthand after a stillbirth at age 28. In my grief and trauma, I turned to drugs to cope.