Recovery Coaches: Peer to Peer Connections

Posted: Friday, March 20, 2015

Steve Reid and George O’Toole are recovery coaches —people who are committed to individuals seeking recovery, assisting them to build a strong foundation for a substance-free life. Reid and O’Toole, who also work full-time at Anchor Recovery Community Center, are on call every weekend as part of the AnchorED program at local hospitals, providing resources for emergency room patients who have overdosed. They are among the first group of certified recovery coaches in Rhode Island.

How Do Recovery Coaches Support People in Recovery?

Steve Reid: We’re not therapists and we’re different from sponsors. We’re the follow-up piece, the motivators for people in recovery. We make phone calls to check in and make connections to the resources that can help them get their lives back on track.

George O’Toole: We also keep families in the loop, which is an important factor for being successful in their recovery. You need those positive people around you. We are a resource for families and encourage them to seek support, too.

What Do You Do as Coaches in the AnchorED Program?

SR: For a long time, it was “treat and street”—you go to the ER, get patched up, then you’re back out there chasing the addiction. Now, I have a chance to break that cycle by connecting with someone at the moment they need it most, to educate and encourage them to get treatment.

GO: Last weekend, I saw six patients who were admitted to the ER for overdose. Depending on where the patient is in his or her recovery journey, I give them the information and support they, and their family, need to make this their last ER visit.

How Does Your Experience as a Person in Recovery Help Motivate Others to Find Recovery?

SR: It gives us “street cred.” They see us sober, with careers, with our families and they know we’ve had to put the work in, what we’ve been through. We teach them that recovery is possible.

GO: That was me once. I had many years of recovery under my belt before I relapsed. I thought I had it all together. I tell them their life is worth it, but you’re going to have to work hard to get there.