Amy Parker, Peer Support Recovery Specialist, 

​BrightView 

Amy Parker  lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and is a certified Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant and a certified Peer Recovery Supporter. Though her clinical certifications provide her education for a professional capacity, her lived experiences are what makes her role so valuable. Amy is in long term recovery from Substance Use Disorder, more than six years. She hopes that by sharing her journey through addiction and recovery, she may inspire hope and change in others.  

MDreferralPRO wants to share how user, Amy Parker, believes that kindness, patience and compassion are key factors that will help to break stigma and encourage hope for others in the New Year!  

When asked:  What do you do in your peer-recovery work and what is the importance of psychosocial support in long-term recovery?  

Amy Parker:  I meet with patients and I introduce myself as their peer recovery supporter. I tell them right then and there that means I’m in recovery, too. I’ve been in this place, I understand because I’ve lived through it. Everything I ask or say to them is from a place of encouragement, inspiring hope, and helping them understand that communication is key. Telling them, no matter what happens when you walk out of that door, come back, communicate with us. As long as you’re alive, we can do that. For them, it’s about having someone look at them in the eye and say: "It’s ok. You’re not a horrible person, you matter. Your life has value and you are cared about. I will lead you. Lean on me until you’re strong enough to be able to do it yourself." I also have the amazing role as a Community Outreach Manager at BrightView. My days consist of building relationships with community partners and reaching patients outside of the BrightView clinical setting, like jails and emergency departments. Because of my disease of addiction and my recovery, I live a beautiful life as a mother, wife and an advocate for folks just like me. 

Click here to read more of Amy's story.