What if the first step toward healing isn’t a grand plan, but a simple, human moment—someone staying with you long enough to help you answer the call when opportunity rings? We sit down with Monica Brown, a certified peer counselor at Peers Rising, whose story threads resilience, harm reduction, and the courage to parent with clarity after growing up in chaos.

Monica opens up about becoming a bonus mom and why language—and respect—matter in blended families. She honors the steadiness of her dad and bonus mom and shows how chosen structure becomes a legacy you pass forward. We dig into the everyday realities of recovery support: why housing is foundational, how employment bias undercuts second chances, and the surprising power of a prepaid phone for staying in touch with probation, treatment, and job callbacks. Along the way, Monica dismantles common myths about addiction and unhoused neighbors, reframing the conversation around dignity, safety, and practical help.

We also explore harm reduction with nuance. After quitting cold turkey left her dangerously unwell, cannabis became a stabilizing tool in Monica’s recovery, a perspective she now brings to peers while never glamorizing any substance. With national policy shifts opening real research, we talk outcomes over ideology: fewer overdoses, more connection, and functional, present lives. The heartbeat of our time together is “holding space”—showing up without judgment and with firm boundaries, so people can move from tapping on the window of change to finally stepping through it.

If you believe recovery should be measured by regained relationships, steady work, and safer lives, you’ll find hope here—and a few concrete ideas you can act on today. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find real stories that spark change.

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