It’s a beautiful gift.

Lonny is from Windham. He is a Recovery Coach, guiding others in their journey of recovery from substance use disorder.

What do you do for work, and what communities of people do you work with?

Peer Support Specialists help people in their journey of recovery, so we support them by showing empathy and concern for their wellbeing and recovery. We also help them with finding a job, help them find living situations. We also engage them in the recovery community. We provide them information in terms of resources for meetings and help them with counseling and show them a better way of living without drugs or alcohol. I go into jails, and I help people who are getting out and talk to people and talk to sheriffs and talk to the police departments. That’s all I do every day—is talk to people who want to help people. Police officers in jails and such, they don’t want these people to be there. I know the best thing that ever happened to me is that I spent a very short amount of time in jail, and it was scary. I realized that I never wanted to go back there, and I’ve never been back there. Now, I go there to help people.

How did you get into this line of work?

I was a drug addict and a drunk for a very long time, and by the grace of God, I just decided one day that my journey in life was much better than doing that. It has taken me a long time to get there, but when I realized that I wanted to live a fulfilled life—that I was placed here for a reason—I’ve never looked back. I’ve spent a long time fighting my own demons, and now I just want to help people fight their demons.

I went to Portland Recovery Community Center and took classes through them. I also have learned so much through my work at Better Life Partners by going into jails, institutions, and homeless shelters.

Training took about three months. It was a full week of classes and then two other big classes that were two and three days at a time. There was a lot of training and, more importantly, a lot of soul searching in myself to see why I was doing this work. By giving back, I can also help my own recovery. 

What do you enjoy about your work?

By doing the work that I do, I see where people are because I was that person. I know how sad they are. I know how scared they are. I’m available to them when they want to call, or they want to talk, or they want to cry. I know that when you’re doing drugs and you’re drinking, all you’re trying to do is numb life. You’re trying to hide away from things that are affecting your life. 

The best thing that ever happened to me was everybody finally said, “Enough, I’m tired. I’m tired of living in your world.” Once I realized that I was on my own, I realized that I wasn’t alone. I had my higher power, and I had a support staff of people that were just like me that I could depend on.

It’s just a beautiful, beautiful gift. Sobriety and helping people is the biggest gift I’ve ever experienced in my life.

What types of skills and qualities does it take to be successful in this field?

Understanding everybody’s journey in life is different, especially in recovery. If people are not in recovery, they don’t understand how tough it is. The toughest thing anybody could ever do is to choose recovery and stay in recovery. Sometimes, it’s one minute at a time. Sometimes, it’s 24 hours. 

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in getting into the field?

I would certainly recommend people go online and find peer support specialist classes or recovery coach classes, or look for their local recovery center. I know there are many around in the entire state. The majority of these classes are online, so you can do it when it’s convenient for you. There are so many jobs out there for people who want help and need help, and it’s good pay in the state of Maine.

Believe in yourself enough, and know that people out there need you. Once you see that people need you, it could be a beautiful passion of yours, and it could be the best job you’ve ever had in your life. I know for me it is.