I was introduced to Robin’s Hope in August of 2022. I was six months sober when I experienced a trigger from a sexual assault 28 years earlier. I joined virtual groups and received individual peer support. I started to address my complex PTSD over decades of my life. I sought out individual therapy and medication management for mental illnesses. I remained sober despite the trigger, because of Robin’s Hope.  In March of 2023, I received a scholarship to participate in a 72-hour Peer Recovery Specialist course and graduated in May of 2023. I also completed 500 volunteer hours at Robin’s Hope and in March of 2024, I was offered the position as Virtual Program Lead. In June of 2024, I passed my state certification exam and became a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. This profession is all about lived experience, and that is something I have in excess.

I can relate to those who’ve endured verbal, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse, and corporal punishment as a child. I can relate to those who are widowed. To those who’ve experienced domestic violence, and sexual assault. I can relate to being bullied and suicidal. I can relate to women who’ve lost custody of their children, and to those who’ve lost a profession due to substance abuse.  I can relate to those who’ve experienced homelessness, food insecurity, institutional abuse in the healthcare system because of mental illness and substance abuse. I can relate to those who’ve experienced a traumatic physical injury, having to learn to walk again.  I can relate to having a lost childhood, feeling like I don’t have a place in this world. I can relate to those who are responsible for an adult child with special needs. Yes, my life has been a rollercoaster ride of sobriety and relapse….and each relapse stripped away more of my dignity.

I thought I was a healer when I volunteered as a paramedic in my 20’s and became a Registered Nurse in Critical Care and the Emergency Department. I’m also a Licensed Massage Therapist. My entire professional life has been in healthcare.  I lived a privileged life and finally had everything I thought would make me happy. At the same time, I was dying inside.  My co-dependency, substance abuse and untreated mental illness took over.  I became the undertow of my own life. I was focused on taking care of everyone but myself. Through it all, however, I had the will to live. I was determined to come out the other side of my self-inflicted turbulence, and learn a new way of life. I’m growing, and catching myself when I resort to the survival skills I learned as a child. I am taking responsibility for my behavior.

It is no exaggeration to say, Robin’s Hope has saved my life.  After 40 years of therapy, in and out of treatment centers, and psychiatric units, no one has ever guided me to the source of my pain, until I came to Robin’s Hope.  I was plagued with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). I’ve had to address the source of my suffering. What happened to me as a child is not mine to carry, but it is my responsibility to heal. I’ve had to forgive myself and others. Today I see a future beyond the tip of my nose. I have hope and purpose.  I see beauty, even when it’s not pretty.

Being a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, my recovery and self-care are my priorities.  This profession encourages it, and at Robin’s Hope, we have each other’s back.  Now I understand what my spiritual mentor, a Medicine Woman once told me.  “HEALER! Heal thyself first!” I’ve come to understand, a true healer doesn’t heal others. We heal ourselves and help others to heal themselves. At this point in my recovery I’m grateful for everything I’ve survived. I’m able to see how my resiliency to emerge from a traumatic childhood and chaotic life can help others who want to heal. THIS is my purpose.  To make a difference in the lives of others in my tribe.

Rye Curtis, PRS I was born in Warren County, with a mild form of Spina Bifida, and was the eldest of 2 siblings. My family moved to Richmond in 1973 when I was 5 years old. Soon after moving, I contracted spinal meningitis, succumbed to a coma, & suffered a stroke. The stroke left me with semi-hemi paralysis of my right side. My parents were told I would never walk again,. After several months in the hospital & while receiving intense physical therapy, when I was discharged in May I had started to walk again & by September I was fully walking. However, I was left with lifelong epilepsy as a result of the stroke. At 12 I had started smoking marijuana & by 15 my addiction had escalated to hard drugs. At 16 I quit school, left home, took a job cutting grass at a tattoo shop, & witnessed a friend accidently shoot himself resulting in his death. The crowd that frequented the tattoo shop was a rough crowd, I started hanging out with them & was given the nickname Rye. They said I was like a good whiskey (Rye) but just had not aged long enough. At 18 I was at a party & was pressured into playing Russian Rolette. I was the last to go & was sure I was going to die as the gun had never fired, only to fin out the gun had no bullets. This event had a lasting impact on my life. Once I was a little older I began following bands, after some time, band members began to recognize me & I was asked to be a roadie. I worked my way up to writing songs with different bands & started forming my own bands, sometimes I was even the lead singer. I was still using but it was not yet out of control. I knew my childhood medical conditions would not allow me to continue doing hard physical labor so when I was presented with an opportunity to attend Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation center, I took it. I attended one year taking a course in mechanical drafting. During this time, I met two very important people in my life, first is Bob, a lifelong best friend & second I fell in love with a young lady who I became engaged to. We were together for a year when she became very ill & passed away after 4 months. This loss triggered & skyrocketed my substance abuse disorder & I was losing any control. Around the same time, I was given the opportunity to host my own tv show “Koncrete Alley” showcasing Heavy Metal/Hard rock bands while also managing several other bands. I ran full steam for 6 while using various drugs daily, ultimately leading me to using heroin every day. My recovery began when a guy I was partying with called me me a junkie one day, a huge fight erupted, and I threw him out. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and realized that the person looking at me was a junkie. In 2000 I met the woman who would become my wife. I had already been clean for a good while, but I credit this wonderful woman by helping keep me clean. In 2011, after attending Friend’s 4 Recovery and finding myself drawn to helping others in their journey, I started the Peer Movement. While training to be a facilitator for WRAP I met Mr. Powell. Mr. Powell arranged a scholarship for me to become a Peer Support Specialist (PRS) & started my journey to becoming a PRS. By 2016 I had worked my way up to becoming the Executive Director at Friends 4 Recovery. One night when I came home from work, 10/31/2016, Halloween night, I found my wife passed away. I was in shock, but due to certain events I no longer felt supported and by the end of January 2017 I left Friends. After a year in a very dark place I found myself in a manic phase of my Bipolar disorder waking up in New York very unhappy & realizing I had made a mistake. September 2020 I made my way back to Richmond. The first year I spent reestablishing myself in Virginia & visiting Robin’s Hope, a place that I had heard so much about. I was welcomed by Heather Pate who had heard of me from friends. While living in New York, my PRS certification had run, Heather asked If I would like to start working on my hours to recertify & I was more than happy to do so. On November 28, 2023, I will celebrate 25 years of being free from drug use. I hope to one day bring a dual diagnosis group to Robin’s Hope to help others navigate the path that I traveled.