Latest / Behavioral Health Brief / Ep. 6 | Recovery In Action: Finding Strength, Purpose And A New Beginning

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Ep. 6 | Recovery In Action: Finding Strength, Purpose And A New Beginning · Behavioral Health Brief

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Behavioral Health Brief, presented by TURNED Behavioral
0:05
Speaker 1: Health Services.
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Speaker 2: Behavioral health is.
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Speaker 1: About people people who deserve compassion, dignity, and the opportunity
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Speaker 1: to heal at turn.
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Speaker 2: That belief drives our mission of improving lives.
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Speaker 1: This podcast brings together behavioral health expertise and real stories
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Speaker 1: of transformation to elevate the field and inspire meaningful change.
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Speaker 1: Today's episode is about transformation and what it really looks
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Speaker 1: like to change your life. My guest today is Jennifer Robbins,
0:41
Speaker 1: a substance use disorder counselor at our North County Center
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Speaker 1: for Change and someone who's walked the same path. She
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Speaker 1: now helps others navigate her journey from addiction and repeated
0:54
Speaker 1: arrests to a turning point that began in the back
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Speaker 1: of a sheriff's card to grab you in in drug court,
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Speaker 1: and now helping others walk the same path is a
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Speaker 1: powerful example of what recovery can look like. She's also
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Speaker 1: a published author, sharing her story from the Streets to
1:13
Speaker 1: the Seats Volume two, written in a way that lets
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Speaker 1: you experience her transformation in real time. Today, she's helping
1:22
Speaker 1: others build a path forward.
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Speaker 2: Jennifer thank you for being.
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Speaker 1: Here today, and I'd love to start with where you
1:28
Speaker 1: are today. Can you tell us about your role at
1:31
Speaker 1: the North County Center for.
1:33
Speaker 3: Change, Yes, thank you.
1:35
Speaker 4: As a Substance use disorder counselor, I get to work
1:39
Speaker 4: with clients on on a personal level on a one
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Speaker 4: on one so I get to meet with them for
1:46
Speaker 4: one on one sessions for individual counseling. And I also
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Speaker 4: do care coordination, which is like case management, hooking them
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Speaker 4: up with or connecting them with resources in the community,
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Speaker 4: helping them meet needs like for housing, uh, food resources,
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Speaker 4: things of that nature. And then also group counseling. So
2:14
Speaker 4: the group groups are my favorite.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember you saying earlier you got to have
2:19
Speaker 1: a group today this afternoon. So for someone who may
2:22
Speaker 1: not be familiar with North County Center for Change, how.
2:26
Speaker 2: Would you describe the work and a little bit.
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Speaker 1: More detail that everybody does at the North County Center
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Speaker 1: for Change.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, So at North County Center for Change, Drug Court,
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Speaker 4: everybody there is justice impacted, so you have to be
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Speaker 4: court referred and it's a collaboration of the Drug Court
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Speaker 4: team and the Probation Department and the courts. Everybody working
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Speaker 4: in collaboration together, which is which is very unique. It's
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Speaker 4: it's the only program out there that has that support
3:00
Speaker 4: all the way around. So our clients are not looked
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Speaker 4: upon by the courts as a number anymore. They're not
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Speaker 4: just a case, They're a person. And so when they
3:11
Speaker 4: go to courts, which they do every week, I in
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Speaker 4: the beginning for the first phase, the judge is addressing
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Speaker 4: them by name, asking them how many clean days they have,
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Speaker 4: which is very unique as well, noticing that each day
3:27
Speaker 4: sober that they have is a success, which is something
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Speaker 4: that in a regular courtroom a judge would never would
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Speaker 4: never notice or recognize or knowledge before.
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Speaker 1: I know when you're when we go to the graduations
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Speaker 1: and the judge is there, the district attorneys there, the
3:50
Speaker 1: public defenders there, the whole team is there supporting all
3:54
Speaker 1: of them. It's really really interesting because you could see
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Speaker 1: the uniqueness of everybody working together, the individuals that are
4:01
Speaker 1: in the North County Center for Change. What keeps you
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Speaker 1: coming back to this work that you do every day?
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Speaker 4: Oh, I love I love the idea of hope, bringing
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Speaker 4: hope and watching watching people absolutely transform their lives. And
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Speaker 4: you know, people are resilient in in in recovery you know,
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Speaker 4: watching watching somebody completely change from going from basically death
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Speaker 4: to life, which is something that I did myself, and
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Speaker 4: so just being a part of that is a blessing.
4:36
Speaker 2: You describe behavioral health.
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Speaker 1: In your own experience as resilience and the ability to change.
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Speaker 1: Where does that perspective come from?
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Speaker 4: It comes from Actually, my I think my faith, my
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Speaker 4: faith with my own personal God in in my life
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Speaker 4: and that was something that Drug Courts, North County Center
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Speaker 4: for Change Drug Court helped me reconnect with with my
5:03
Speaker 4: God in a and just just a more personal level
5:07
Speaker 4: than than I was before because they require you to
5:12
Speaker 4: participate in a twelve step program, and in part of
5:15
Speaker 4: a twelve step program, the you you have to connect
5:20
Speaker 4: with the god of some sort a higher power what
5:23
Speaker 4: have you? And for me, that is a God and
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Speaker 4: so that's what I find.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 1: So what has it been like these first few months
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Speaker 1: that you're now working at the North County Center for
5:34
Speaker 1: Change and that experience for you after going full circle
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Speaker 1: with the North County Center for Change in your role, Oh.
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Speaker 4: It's been It's been amazing being able to kind of
5:47
Speaker 4: I kind of like see my see myself, you know,
5:50
Speaker 4: go from like go from a client to being an
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Speaker 4: alumni it was like alumni president for six and a
5:58
Speaker 4: half years and being able to participate that and then
6:00
Speaker 4: coming back as as a counselor. I'm able to use
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Speaker 4: my own experiences and stuff and connect with clients in
6:07
Speaker 4: that way. And so I think that I think that
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Speaker 4: I'm able to I don't know, just I don't know.
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Speaker 4: It's kind of hard to explain.
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Speaker 1: You've touched on your personal connection to the work at
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Speaker 1: North County Center for Change for you, but can you
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Speaker 1: take us back to really where it all started for you?
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Speaker 3: Okay, okay, okay.
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Speaker 4: So, so for me, I started as as a client
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Speaker 4: in drug court and my last arrest really was it
6:42
Speaker 4: was a huge change for me in my in my life.
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Speaker 4: Like I mentioned, going from like death to life, and.
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Speaker 3: That's really what it was.
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Speaker 4: It was it was a death to an entirely different
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Speaker 4: way of life and than drug court for me was
7:00
Speaker 4: was a was a lifeline. But it's a drug court
7:03
Speaker 4: is a very intense, intense outpatient program. It's a whole
7:09
Speaker 4: whole person treatment. So you have to complete you have
7:15
Speaker 4: to get a full time job within the first thirty days.
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Speaker 2: Wow, for thirty days, you have to be.
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Speaker 3: Employed absolutely full time too.
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Speaker 2: Full time.
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Speaker 4: You have to have twelve step program. You have to
7:27
Speaker 4: complete those twelve steps. You have to have a sponsor
7:30
Speaker 4: within the first thirty days or sponsors to call in,
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Speaker 4: you know, to your counselor and you know, report that
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Speaker 4: you're doing your steps. You have to go to group
7:37
Speaker 4: every single day. It's like nine groups a week that
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Speaker 4: you're attending. You know, Uh, it's a lot.
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Speaker 3: It's a lot.
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Speaker 4: You're going to court once a week, and so it's
7:48
Speaker 4: a lot. And what it is is as boundaries and
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Speaker 4: structure and you know, things that it wasn't experiencing out
7:57
Speaker 4: you know on the streets.
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Speaker 1: Who is your support person through that process for you,
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Speaker 1: besides just the Center for Change and the employees that
8:05
Speaker 1: were there that were working with you. Was there another
8:07
Speaker 1: person outside you were working with?
8:09
Speaker 3: Yes?
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Speaker 4: Absolutely, I had my sponsor, okay, my my sponsor and
8:12
Speaker 4: at that time her name was Karen, Karen p. And
8:16
Speaker 4: she was instrumental. There was no you know, room for
8:20
Speaker 4: room for messing around. You know, when I would kind
8:24
Speaker 4: of you cross my arms over my chest and that,
8:26
Speaker 4: you know kind of that's not fair, you know, she
8:27
Speaker 4: would just say, she would just say, you know, things
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Speaker 4: like uncross your arms, unpurse your lips. You know that,
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Speaker 4: you know you're embarrassing me. It's none of your business
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Speaker 4: what other people are thinking. It's none of your business
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Speaker 4: what other people are saying, you know that that kind
8:43
Speaker 4: of that kind of stuff. When I worked my steps
8:46
Speaker 4: and had to make amends, she she said, do you
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Speaker 4: owe the library any money? And I was like, whoa,
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Speaker 4: you know, like, do I owe the library any money?
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Speaker 3: You said yes?
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Speaker 4: And I thought like, well maybe from ten or fifteen
9:01
Speaker 4: years ago.
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Speaker 3: She said, okay, well then you need to make amends
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Speaker 3: to them.
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Speaker 4: And she was not going to call in my steps
9:07
Speaker 4: to my counselor and tell my counselor that I completed
9:10
Speaker 4: that step until I did, you know, so there was
9:13
Speaker 4: no a messing around with her. And I am so grateful.
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Speaker 2: Is she still in your life?
9:20
Speaker 4: She is not today, but but as you can see,
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Speaker 4: I'm I'm I still contribute a lot of my a
9:26
Speaker 4: lot of my success, you know, to her. And also
9:30
Speaker 4: you know my counselor obviously with the drug courts and
9:33
Speaker 4: the program manager Judy Johnson.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Judy Johnson. I remember Judy.
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Speaker 4: Well, yeah, Judy just retired last year June of not last,
9:43
Speaker 4: excuse me, June of twenty twenty four.
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Speaker 3: She just retired, but she is still in my life
9:47
Speaker 3: today and look so.
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Speaker 1: Crazy action of all of you guys that have gone
9:51
Speaker 1: through recovery is simply amazing. We had the retirement party
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Speaker 1: for Judy and that that was amazing because there was
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Speaker 1: so many people that had been and involved in the
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Speaker 1: Drug Court and in Judy's life, and you probably knew
10:04
Speaker 1: most of them that were there at that that function,
10:07
Speaker 1: So that's true.
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Speaker 3: Really yea.
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Speaker 4: Her office was full of flowers wucking in there.
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Speaker 3: So yeah, she was amazing.
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Speaker 1: So when you think about that version of yourself, now
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Speaker 1: what stands out to you? Oh?
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Speaker 3: Wow, gosh, I was so lost.
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Speaker 4: I was just so broken and so lost and so lone.
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Speaker 4: And you know, I used drugs to numb. It wasn't
10:32
Speaker 4: like I was using drugs so that I felt better
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Speaker 4: about anything. I'd used it to numb so that I
10:40
Speaker 4: would just completely not feel anything at all.
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Speaker 3: And so.
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Speaker 4: I was just completely completely numb to feeling anything good,
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Speaker 4: feeling anything bad, feeling anything at all.
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Speaker 2: You know.
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Speaker 3: So I was just lost and so.
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Speaker 4: Drug Court gave me life again. But when you get sober,
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Speaker 4: a red carpet is not laid in front of you
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Speaker 4: that says here, Jennifer, life is going to be amazing
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Speaker 4: for you now that you're sober.
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Speaker 3: In fact, it's just the opposite.
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Speaker 4: I feel life gets life gets difficult because now now
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Speaker 4: I have to feel, I have to feel it all.
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Speaker 3: I have to go through it. I have to experience it,
11:23
Speaker 3: you know.
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Speaker 4: And it's tough and it's rough, and a lot of
11:27
Speaker 4: things that I've gone through in recovery have been hard.
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Speaker 4: But I've realized that I can do hard for me
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Speaker 4: and I can make in everything that I go through
11:38
Speaker 4: with the support obviously of my higher power, whom I
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Speaker 4: call God, you know, has made me stronger and more resilient,
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Speaker 4: and now I'm able to help somebody else, which is
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Speaker 4: part of my twelve step right.
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Speaker 1: But you know, I'd like to hear from you about
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Speaker 1: the shift that occurred in your life, because you talk
11:54
Speaker 1: about it in your book here, and there was truly
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Speaker 1: a moment that you really shifted and knew you had
12:00
Speaker 1: to take another path in the current path that we
12:03
Speaker 1: were on. There were the outside factors. There are the
12:06
Speaker 1: sheriff's car and the handcuffs as you've described in your book,
12:09
Speaker 1: and the cold cell and sleeping on the bench. But
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Speaker 1: there must have been something that just shifted you to
12:16
Speaker 1: know that you had to get into the North County
12:19
Speaker 1: Center for Change. I think that's very important that you
12:22
Speaker 1: share some of that today too.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you for acknowledging that. Well.
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Speaker 4: For me, it was because I had been numb. I
12:30
Speaker 4: had been numbing myself for so long. I wasn't hearing,
12:34
Speaker 4: really hearing the voice of my God anymore. And once
12:39
Speaker 4: I was able to listen again, like hear him. It's
12:43
Speaker 4: not audible, it's not like an audible audible voice, but
12:46
Speaker 4: it's just kind of like, you know, I'm still hearing
12:49
Speaker 4: his voice.
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Speaker 2: Like.
12:50
Speaker 4: Once I was able to do that, then I was like, Okay,
12:53
Speaker 4: you need help. You need to get this help. But
12:55
Speaker 4: I wasn't. I wasn't trying to get out of the
13:00
Speaker 4: situation that I was in anymore. I wasn't wasn't trying
13:02
Speaker 4: to focus on how am I gonna, you know, bail
13:04
Speaker 4: out of jail, How am I gonna, you know, just
13:07
Speaker 4: get out of this this arrest and everything. This time,
13:10
Speaker 4: it was kind of like surrendering, you know. And I
13:13
Speaker 4: hadn't had drug court before I'd been arrested, so many
13:16
Speaker 4: times before, and I bet I had never asked for
13:18
Speaker 4: a drug court and something told me drug court and
13:20
Speaker 4: everybody had.
13:21
Speaker 3: Everybody knows, everybody had, you know, in jail.
13:24
Speaker 2: Everybody knows I share that experience in jail.
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Speaker 4: Everybody says that your courds a set up for failure.
13:29
Speaker 4: That's a setup for failure, set up for failure, because
13:31
Speaker 4: drug court is eighteen month's minimum program and it's very hard.
13:36
Speaker 4: It's very hard to complete. There's a lot of requirements
13:40
Speaker 4: and the consequences of not of not completing it are
13:45
Speaker 4: are like jail weekend in jail, things like that, you know,
13:49
Speaker 4: because it's very structured, right and stuff.
13:52
Speaker 3: But I was willing.
13:53
Speaker 4: I was just willing, and I think willingness and then surrendering,
13:57
Speaker 4: so that those are those are huge things for me.
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Speaker 4: And once I was in drug court and I started
14:02
Speaker 4: to work my steps, which they ever, you don't see that.
14:06
Speaker 4: Hindsight is twenty twenty. Hindsight is always twenty twenty. So
14:09
Speaker 4: when I look back and I see, oh, now, I
14:12
Speaker 4: realize why they wanted me to get a job within
14:15
Speaker 4: that amount of time. They wanted me to get a sponsor,
14:16
Speaker 4: They wanted me to work my steps even the way
14:19
Speaker 4: that the steps are. They're in the order that they
14:21
Speaker 4: are for a reason. And you know, once I had
14:24
Speaker 4: got like my third step and I got on my
14:26
Speaker 4: knees and surrendered to my God and done the If
14:28
Speaker 4: I wouldn't have done that, then you know another thing
14:31
Speaker 4: that happened.
14:32
Speaker 3: In the program.
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Speaker 4: It was like, oh wow, Like I got a random
14:37
Speaker 4: phone call from the person that had adopted my children,
14:41
Speaker 4: sharing that Yeah, and she just called me to tell
14:44
Speaker 4: me that she had changed my children's first names.
14:47
Speaker 3: Just call me and tell me that just to be
14:49
Speaker 3: just to be.
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Speaker 4: Evil, really, you know, but I would have kind of
14:55
Speaker 4: freaked out. But I had just done my third step,
14:58
Speaker 4: which is surrendering, turning your life over to care of
15:02
Speaker 4: a God who you understand. And if I wouldn't have
15:05
Speaker 4: done that, I would have would have handled that in
15:08
Speaker 4: a different way. And so drug court gave me power
15:14
Speaker 4: to to just kind of and strength, just to strength
15:21
Speaker 4: that I did not have in myself. You know, I
15:24
Speaker 4: just didn't have in myself at all.
15:27
Speaker 1: I remember in reading in your book that describing how
15:31
Speaker 1: many times you asked for drug court, right and and
15:35
Speaker 1: we're denied three times, But you had the strength and
15:38
Speaker 1: the willingness and the effort to go on and keep
15:41
Speaker 1: asking describe that feeling, I mean for us, because you
15:44
Speaker 1: can read it in the book, but to hear it
15:46
Speaker 1: from you would be really great.
15:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you. Yeah.
15:50
Speaker 4: So I asked for drug court three different times, like you,
15:52
Speaker 4: like you say, and I just kept getting denied and
15:55
Speaker 4: they kept saying you don't you don't qualify. In fact
15:57
Speaker 4: that I was laughed, literally left, you don't qualify for
16:01
Speaker 4: a drug court, just like that, you know. And I
16:03
Speaker 4: was like, yeah, but I already have this kind of
16:06
Speaker 4: worked out with.
16:08
Speaker 3: My God and we've already made this deal.
16:10
Speaker 4: And that's what I'm you know, that's what I'm asking for,
16:12
Speaker 4: and that's what I'm gonna go for. And I was
16:15
Speaker 4: looking at fourteen years wow, because of my priors, and
16:21
Speaker 4: so it was a lot, it was a lot hanging
16:23
Speaker 4: over my head, you know, and so I really wanted,
16:26
Speaker 4: really wanted the opportunity to have drug court, you know.
16:29
Speaker 4: And so finally when I got the third time, you know,
16:33
Speaker 4: after being denied. If I didn't get it, then then
16:36
Speaker 4: I would have been in a lot of trouble. So
16:38
Speaker 4: I finally did sign a deal and it was dropped
16:40
Speaker 4: down to seven years four months so or seven and
16:43
Speaker 4: a half years. Yeah, and I finally signed it that
16:46
Speaker 4: So if I didn't complete drug court, that's what that's
16:48
Speaker 4: the time I would have done.
16:50
Speaker 1: Did they ever tell you why you were denied the
16:53
Speaker 1: first three times?
16:54
Speaker 3: My priors? Yeah, my priors.
16:56
Speaker 4: Yeah, So just all the sales that I had, you know,
17:00
Speaker 4: session of sales and sales and and stuff I had
17:04
Speaker 4: on my on my record.
17:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I can remember you describing that in the book,
17:08
Speaker 1: and you couldn't understand other than you know, the priors.
17:12
Speaker 1: And then miraculously, one day they came in and the
17:16
Speaker 1: individual that was notifying you was like, I can't believe it.
17:19
Speaker 2: You're in drug court.
17:21
Speaker 1: It was like happy day for you right to be
17:23
Speaker 1: able to actually be in drug court.
17:25
Speaker 2: So that was a big momentum shift.
17:27
Speaker 1: Absolutely I could see that or feel it when I've
17:29
Speaker 1: read it in your book, So terrific.
17:32
Speaker 5: Yeah.
17:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, And then they told me the drug because it's
17:35
Speaker 4: it's an entire drug court team that has to welcome you.
17:38
Speaker 4: I'm going to accept you into the programs. So it's
17:41
Speaker 4: not just like a district attorney or a public defender.
17:44
Speaker 3: It's the DA.
17:45
Speaker 4: It's it's the puppet defender. It's you know, the program
17:48
Speaker 4: manager from Drug Court. So that included Judy Johnson at
17:50
Speaker 4: the time, right, you know, you know, it's it's everybody
17:54
Speaker 4: that has to accept you.
17:55
Speaker 3: Probation is a part.
17:56
Speaker 1: Of that, and probation all have they all have to agree.
18:01
Speaker 3: And then they told me, well, they said we'll accept you,
18:04
Speaker 3: and you're on a real short leash, they said, you know, but.
18:08
Speaker 4: I was just determined. I was just determined to you
18:11
Speaker 4: to complete it. And I and I just made that
18:13
Speaker 4: deal with God. I was like, Okay, I'm gonna do
18:15
Speaker 4: whatever they want me to do for this eighteen months
18:16
Speaker 4: and then hopefully, hopefully I'll want it on my own.
18:20
Speaker 4: Hopefully I'll have desire to want it on my own.
18:21
Speaker 3: And I did, Yeah, I did.
18:22
Speaker 4: I was just kind of like, you know, everything in
18:25
Speaker 4: my life, I've always just kind of done, you know,
18:27
Speaker 4: full steam ahead, you know, and whether it was positive
18:31
Speaker 4: or negative, I was kind of like in all the way.
18:34
Speaker 4: And that's what I did with Drug Court.
18:36
Speaker 1: That's just tremendous that what you went through and stuck
18:40
Speaker 1: through it and had the resilience, as you described it
18:43
Speaker 1: in your book, to really stay with the program and
18:47
Speaker 1: want to complete that program. Can you describe like what
18:50
Speaker 1: it was like for you when you were in the
18:52
Speaker 1: program and then seeing that you were making those you know,
18:56
Speaker 1: leaps if you want to call it, in your life
18:59
Speaker 1: and seeing that recovery and seeing the end of the
19:02
Speaker 1: light at the end of the tunnel.
19:05
Speaker 4: Yes, So the requirements that they wanted, like for instance,
19:10
Speaker 4: like the full time job and stuff, and so without
19:14
Speaker 4: drug court, you know, pushing me to do that, you know,
19:16
Speaker 4: when it got the job that I did, and then
19:19
Speaker 4: you know, getting for instance, like getting keys to the
19:22
Speaker 4: office in that full time job and then having that
19:25
Speaker 4: realization that like, wow, they trust me, they trust me,
19:30
Speaker 4: you know, and that with without drug court, like that
19:33
Speaker 4: wouldn't have happened, right, And then I was in sober
19:36
Speaker 4: living you know for about a month and a half.
19:39
Speaker 4: And then I got my own place, you know, I'm
19:44
Speaker 4: renting obviously, and it was with my husband at the.
19:48
Speaker 3: Time, and then another friend.
19:50
Speaker 4: We we rented that place and I'm still there today,
19:53
Speaker 4: so I've been there nine years. And that was huge.
19:56
Speaker 4: It was like, Okay, now I have keys to my
19:59
Speaker 4: own place. You know, without drug court, that wouldn't have happened.
20:03
Speaker 3: You know.
20:04
Speaker 4: I got a car you know what, I got a
20:06
Speaker 4: car and it was this ninety six Nissan center that.
20:08
Speaker 3: Was so loud.
20:09
Speaker 4: But I was so proud, you know. But again it
20:12
Speaker 4: was keys to a car. Yeah, drug court. That wouldn't
20:14
Speaker 4: have happened, you know, because they push you, they push you,
20:18
Speaker 4: they push you to do these things and and there
20:20
Speaker 4: it's it's it's encouragement, you know, and it's like wow,
20:24
Speaker 4: you know it was so I was what it was happening.
20:26
Speaker 4: Was I that death to life that means I was
20:29
Speaker 4: slowly getting my.
20:31
Speaker 1: Life back right and taking responsibility right right from yourself.
20:36
Speaker 1: And those things were just little stepping stones that were
20:39
Speaker 1: through your recovery.
20:40
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and in recovery you hear things like in the
20:44
Speaker 4: rooms of recovery, you're like, oh yeah, you get you
20:47
Speaker 4: get everything back. You lose everything when you're you know,
20:50
Speaker 4: out there in your addiction, but you get everything back
20:52
Speaker 4: and recovery. And I'm here to say that it is
20:54
Speaker 4: possible that you get that you to get things back,
20:57
Speaker 4: and a lot of people do get everything back, but
21:01
Speaker 4: you don't always get everything back, you know. You know,
21:05
Speaker 4: I didn't lose my children because of addiction. I had
21:08
Speaker 4: lost my children because we could not provide stable housing
21:11
Speaker 4: at the time. And so I don't have my children back,
21:16
Speaker 4: you know, But but I that doesn't mean that I
21:18
Speaker 4: don't pray to get them back, you know, one day,
21:21
Speaker 4: you know what I mean. And I know that God
21:22
Speaker 4: will do what he what he what He's going to do,
21:25
Speaker 4: you know, in life. But but I do have, like
21:29
Speaker 4: I did, I do have like amends that that I've
21:31
Speaker 4: that I've you know, made, you know, to them, and
21:33
Speaker 4: that I that I've prepared, you know, for each one
21:36
Speaker 4: of my children, you know. So, but recovery has helped
21:40
Speaker 4: me do that, right, Yeah, So that those are those
21:44
Speaker 4: are those are kind of gifts that I've gotten.
21:47
Speaker 2: So let's shift a minute. Let's talk about the book.
21:50
Speaker 1: Let's talk about From the Streets to the Seats, Volume two.
21:54
Speaker 2: And you're writing in here and being.
21:56
Speaker 1: Published and.
21:58
Speaker 2: In your story, you were writing in real time.
22:01
Speaker 1: Describe that for us as things were unfolding in your life,
22:04
Speaker 1: and describe, you know, the process of getting to be
22:08
Speaker 1: able to be published in the book. And this book
22:11
Speaker 1: is about everybody who's been in recovery, but inside the
22:14
Speaker 1: justice system too that have the same experiences. So I'd
22:17
Speaker 1: love to hear about that today.
22:19
Speaker 4: Thank you for highlighting that. So I was a student
22:23
Speaker 4: at Mira Costa College in Ocean Side, and I'm also
22:27
Speaker 4: a Transition Scholars student. In Transition Scholars is a club
22:32
Speaker 4: for anybody who is justice impacted. So whether you have
22:36
Speaker 4: been in juvenile hall, jail, prison, how much you've done
22:40
Speaker 4: a little bit of time, a lot of time, recent time,
22:44
Speaker 4: a long time ago, doesn't matter. So you've been justice impacted,
22:47
Speaker 4: you qualify for Transition Scholars. And so my English class
22:52
Speaker 4: there was a cohort with Transition Scholars, so every student
22:57
Speaker 4: in that class was also in Transition Scholars, which meant
23:02
Speaker 4: we all could relate to each other, which was amazing, right,
23:05
Speaker 4: So I think that that helped people but open up freely.
23:11
Speaker 4: So because sometimes when when you when you want to
23:15
Speaker 4: share your story, you start, you know, thinking like, oh
23:19
Speaker 4: maybe this person will judge me, maybe that person you
23:21
Speaker 4: know won't you know, be able to relate to what
23:24
Speaker 4: I'm saying. But because we were all kind of cut
23:27
Speaker 4: from the same cloth per se, and we were able
23:30
Speaker 4: to open up like that.
23:32
Speaker 3: So my English.
23:33
Speaker 4: Professor, Professor Tyrone to guy amazing he's still my mentor today,
23:38
Speaker 4: helped me, helped me to be able to write the
23:42
Speaker 4: way that you described, like in real time.
23:45
Speaker 3: So it's not just about telling my story.
23:48
Speaker 4: It's about using like descriptive words such as like describing
23:53
Speaker 4: this the smell of someone's bubble gum, describing the sound
23:55
Speaker 4: of you know, the handcuffs, you know, scraping against the
23:59
Speaker 4: the seat, things like that. So it's being able to
24:03
Speaker 4: you know, kind of like put put the reader into
24:06
Speaker 4: into what's happening.
24:08
Speaker 3: And so I'm grateful for that for.
24:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was interesting.
24:11
Speaker 1: I remember the part in the book where you were
24:13
Speaker 1: laying down on the bench.
24:15
Speaker 2: It was cold.
24:15
Speaker 1: I think you were in the jail, said you were
24:18
Speaker 1: jail cell, you were in the lower bunk, and you
24:20
Speaker 1: really described the feeling of lying on that betch I
24:22
Speaker 1: could visualize it as you were lying in there, so
24:25
Speaker 1: so much empathy for you. And that part when people
24:30
Speaker 1: walk away or finish reading your story, what do you
24:32
Speaker 1: hope that they take with them?
24:35
Speaker 2: Oh?
24:35
Speaker 3: Wow, Yeah, that's kind of like the.
24:36
Speaker 4: Whole the whole point of it, that that they can
24:40
Speaker 4: make it, that that that there's that that hope that
24:43
Speaker 4: that if I can, if I can get through this,
24:45
Speaker 4: so can they like the connection?
24:46
Speaker 3: I want them to be able.
24:47
Speaker 4: To say like, Wow, she went through this, and you
24:51
Speaker 4: know I can go through this too.
24:54
Speaker 3: It my my my story, My story is is.
24:58
Speaker 4: Deep in a lot in a lot of ways, and
25:00
Speaker 4: you might not be able to connect to my story
25:02
Speaker 4: in every way, but but hopefully that there's bits and
25:06
Speaker 4: pieces that you can connect with it as a reader.
25:11
Speaker 4: We just found out recently at the book launch, which
25:15
Speaker 4: was about a month ago, that our book that the
25:17
Speaker 4: County of San Diego has agreed to they have a contract.
25:22
Speaker 4: They've agreed to put our book into the jails so people.
25:26
Speaker 1: Can read the real stories.
25:28
Speaker 4: Yes, and that's kind of like, that's huge, that's kind
25:32
Speaker 4: of like our point.
25:33
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting when I hear you talk about that.
25:36
Speaker 1: Do you ever get to go into the jails to
25:38
Speaker 1: talk to clients and say, look, I'm one who used
25:42
Speaker 1: to be here, and you can make it, and I
25:44
Speaker 1: can dispel the myth that oh, you're never going to
25:46
Speaker 1: make it through drug court or anything like that.
25:48
Speaker 2: Do you have you had that experience yet?
25:51
Speaker 4: Not yet, not yet, But as an author connected with
25:54
Speaker 4: this book, that's what we're going to be able to
25:56
Speaker 4: do when as soon as the books go in, we're
25:58
Speaker 4: going to be able to do just author Panels. Excuse me,
26:01
Speaker 4: author Panels, just like we did, you know, at the
26:04
Speaker 4: book launch. So we'll be able to go in and
26:06
Speaker 4: sit and then tell little little snippets of our story
26:10
Speaker 4: and then be able to answer questions.
26:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's going to be interesting. When the books when when?
26:15
Speaker 2: Do you know when the date is?
26:16
Speaker 1: When they when they're going to start being issued to
26:19
Speaker 1: the jails.
26:19
Speaker 4: I don't know the exact date yet, but I'll definitely
26:22
Speaker 4: keep you keep you posted on that.
26:24
Speaker 1: You know, taking your story and putting in a book
26:27
Speaker 1: huge amount of courage. Could you describe that at all
26:30
Speaker 1: of when you were actually writing it and putting it
26:34
Speaker 1: on paper, kind of the feelings around that. That just
26:36
Speaker 1: took a lot of courage to share your life, put
26:39
Speaker 1: it into the book and and you share that.
26:43
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's it's it's it's an emotional experience because
26:47
Speaker 4: it's it's it's reliving. It's reliving what happens, especially doing
26:52
Speaker 4: it in the real time. But it's it's a healing
26:58
Speaker 4: process because it's actually going through like the whole story
27:02
Speaker 4: of of like my last arrest. It's going from how
27:06
Speaker 4: I got into drug court and how drug court.
27:08
Speaker 3: Actually I believe drug court helped save my life.
27:11
Speaker 4: And that's why that's why I keep using that that
27:13
Speaker 4: that term death to life, because that's what I believe
27:15
Speaker 4: drug court did for me. My last arrest literally brought
27:18
Speaker 4: me from from the streets where I was, where I
27:22
Speaker 4: was nothing, Like literally I was nothing at that point,
27:25
Speaker 4: and I, uh, I was able to It's kind of
27:30
Speaker 4: like a my best friend says, it says like a
27:33
Speaker 4: phoenix going like rising from the ashes. Yeah, that's what
27:36
Speaker 4: that's what I That's what it's kind of like.
27:38
Speaker 2: Interesting.
27:39
Speaker 1: Well, Jennifer, you shared such a powerful turning point in
27:42
Speaker 1: your story this morning, and I want to come back
27:44
Speaker 1: to what happened next. But before we go further, let's
27:47
Speaker 1: take a brief pause for the brief that we're going
27:50
Speaker 1: to highlight programs, policies.
27:52
Speaker 2: And emerging trends in our community. So thank you, thank you.
27:57
Speaker 1: Today I want to highlight one of turn programs that
28:01
Speaker 1: really brings whole person care to life, the North County
28:05
Speaker 1: Center for Change. It's one of three drug court programs
28:08
Speaker 1: that Turn, along with East and South County Centers for Change,
28:12
Speaker 1: all working toward the same goal supporting people on a
28:16
Speaker 1: path to recovery and stability. This is an intensive outpatient
28:20
Speaker 1: program here in San Diego, funded by the County of
28:23
Speaker 1: San Diego, and it's been serving the community since nineteen
28:27
Speaker 1: ninety seven, nearly three decades. That kind of longevity says
28:32
Speaker 1: a lot. The need is real, and so is the impact.
28:36
Speaker 1: The program supports individuals navigating both mental health challenges and
28:41
Speaker 1: involvement with the justice system, offering a path forward when
28:46
Speaker 1: those systems on their own aren't enough. What really stands
28:50
Speaker 1: out is how everything works together. This isn't just clinical treatment.
28:54
Speaker 1: Participants also receive case management, life skills support, and the
29:00
Speaker 1: chants to better understand the patterns that brought them there.
29:04
Speaker 1: The focus is on building stability, strengthening emotional regulation, and
29:09
Speaker 1: improving decision making while helping people reconnect with their communities
29:14
Speaker 1: and ways that last. This approach reflects where the field
29:19
Speaker 1: is heading toward more integrated models that bring behavioral health
29:24
Speaker 1: and justice system involvement together. When that alignment happens, you
29:29
Speaker 1: start to see real outcomes, less recidivism, more stability, and
29:34
Speaker 1: better access for people who.
29:36
Speaker 2: Are often underserved.
29:38
Speaker 1: And none of this works without a team at the
29:41
Speaker 1: North County Center for Change, led by the program manager
29:45
Speaker 1: Ricardo Nunez, the staff bring a balance and structure and compassion,
29:50
Speaker 1: holding people accountable. Why creating an environment where change feels
29:54
Speaker 1: possible to me, this program reflects what TURN is working
29:59
Speaker 1: toward that's connected, accessible, and centered on the individual. Because
30:05
Speaker 1: real change doesn't happen in silos. It happens when you
30:08
Speaker 1: treat the whole person. So, Jennifer, I'd love to get
30:11
Speaker 1: your perspective on how important are programs.
30:15
Speaker 4: Like this, Well, Jim, they're instrumental in helping people that
30:20
Speaker 4: once are looked at as criminals into feeling human again,
30:25
Speaker 4: just being able to get back into the community and
30:29
Speaker 4: be able to get you know, jobs and housing, and
30:35
Speaker 4: you know, they without programs like this, they you know,
30:39
Speaker 4: just don't have a chance anymore, you know, and just
30:41
Speaker 4: they hope to bringing hope.
30:42
Speaker 2: You know.
30:43
Speaker 1: I think that's also so interesting when we go to
30:45
Speaker 1: the graduations and we hear how they've reconnected with their families,
30:49
Speaker 1: their mothers, their fathers, their sisters, their brothers, and they're
30:52
Speaker 1: welcome back in. So thank you for really sharing that.
30:55
Speaker 1: And if you'd like to learn more about TURN, you
30:58
Speaker 1: can go to our website turnbhs dot org.
31:01
Speaker 2: Thank you again, Jennifer for sharing that.
31:03
Speaker 5: Thank you, Jim, Improving lives every day and in every
31:07
Speaker 5: way for Californians. This is the mission of TURN Behavioral
31:11
Speaker 5: Health Services. By focusing on wellness, recovery, and resilience, TURN
31:17
Speaker 5: is helping create lasting change, especially for our military community.
31:21
Speaker 5: If your active duty of veteran reservists, regardless of military
31:26
Speaker 5: status or part of a military family in San Diego,
31:30
Speaker 5: support is here. Courage to Call is a free, confidential
31:35
Speaker 5: helpline staffed by veterans who understand military life. From eight
31:39
Speaker 5: am to eight pm. You can connect with peer to
31:42
Speaker 5: peer specialists who are ready to listen, guide, and help.
31:46
Speaker 5: On the very first call. Struggling with mental health, food, insecurity, finances, housing,
31:53
Speaker 5: You don't have to face it alone. Call eight seven
31:56
Speaker 5: seven six ninety eight seven eight three eight. That's eight
31:59
Speaker 5: seventy seven six nine eight seven eight three eight. Courage
32:03
Speaker 5: to Call will answer your call. Courage to Call is
32:06
Speaker 5: a program of TURN Behavioral Health Services, improving lives every
32:10
Speaker 5: day in every way.
32:12
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Behavioral Health Brief.
32:14
Speaker 1: I'm Jim Callahan and we'll continuing our conversation with Jennifer Robbins,
32:18
Speaker 1: a substance use counselor at the North County Center for Change.
32:22
Speaker 1: Let's pick back up well with what came next for you.
32:26
Speaker 1: At what point to becoming a counselor really start to
32:30
Speaker 1: feel like a possibility for you?
32:32
Speaker 3: Thank you, Jim.
32:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, when I was in drug courts, my boss, when
32:37
Speaker 4: I was working at Riofking, she was to tell me
32:39
Speaker 4: you should you should be a counselor, you should do this,
32:41
Speaker 4: and so you know, it was kind of like a
32:43
Speaker 4: fleeting thought for me at that time.
32:46
Speaker 3: I was like, yeah, yeah, that would be kind of cool.
32:48
Speaker 3: I think I would really like to do that.
32:49
Speaker 4: But I wasn't really diving into it as like a
32:52
Speaker 4: real possibility. So it wasn't until a few years later
32:56
Speaker 4: that I started really honestly thinking about it. But I
33:00
Speaker 4: went started going actually going going to school for it
33:02
Speaker 4: a couple of years ago and then just started taking
33:05
Speaker 4: just one class at a time. But I am also
33:07
Speaker 4: simultaneously in school to become a social worker.
33:13
Speaker 3: Nice, so I am graduation license.
33:16
Speaker 4: Thank you for licensed clinical social worker. So I am
33:18
Speaker 4: still a student for that also.
33:21
Speaker 2: Well that's terrific.
33:23
Speaker 3: Thank you.
33:24
Speaker 1: Before stepping into that role, you spent years staying connected
33:28
Speaker 1: as a PLUS alumni leader.
33:30
Speaker 2: Describe that for us For our audience today.
33:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, So as alumni presidents, that role just included staying
33:37
Speaker 4: connected with the program.
33:39
Speaker 3: So about every.
33:40
Speaker 4: Four months there was a graduation, and so I would
33:43
Speaker 4: just kind of get on the stage and speak at
33:45
Speaker 4: every graduation and like present I'm a picture to the
33:49
Speaker 4: judge of the graduating class and then just kind of
33:53
Speaker 4: give a speech just encouraging the graduating class to stay
33:57
Speaker 4: connected as part of alumni, and then also participating in events.
34:02
Speaker 4: So you know, beach Bash event which in fact our
34:05
Speaker 4: program right now, I was about to have a beach
34:07
Speaker 4: Bash this Thursday. Beach Bash just and includes just you know,
34:11
Speaker 4: barbecuing and games and you know, just fun.
34:14
Speaker 3: You know fellowship.
34:16
Speaker 4: We would do padre games, baby showers for clients, whatever,
34:21
Speaker 4: just and just different fellowship.
34:23
Speaker 2: And that was all through the alumni organization.
34:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, well just whatever was going on at drug Court,
34:27
Speaker 4: whatever events were going on at drug at drug Court,
34:29
Speaker 4: alumni can participate in. Okay, So alumni is basically just
34:33
Speaker 4: still staying connected to the program that helped save my life.
34:38
Speaker 3: So just paying respect.
34:39
Speaker 1: So after you graduated the program, then you stayed on
34:44
Speaker 1: as the alumni president for six years. That's because I
34:47
Speaker 1: know at our South County and East County centers for change.
34:50
Speaker 2: They rotate.
34:51
Speaker 1: Uh, they may not stay for six years, so that's
34:54
Speaker 1: really a commitment on your part.
34:56
Speaker 3: Yeah.
34:57
Speaker 4: Well we had COVID, that kind of you know happened
35:01
Speaker 4: during so there was some you know, I think that
35:04
Speaker 4: that kind of you know, uh made a difference.
35:08
Speaker 1: How was it working at drug court or being part
35:11
Speaker 1: of drug Court through COVID. How did that How did
35:14
Speaker 1: that transition happen?
35:15
Speaker 4: Yeah, So, like the graduations happened at the program other
35:19
Speaker 4: than at the AVO, And so we were kind of
35:22
Speaker 4: there with the with a microphone, wearing wearing a mask
35:26
Speaker 4: and just kind of like going up one one by
35:28
Speaker 4: one and having graduations like that. So they they did
35:32
Speaker 4: not put them on on hold or on pause or anything.
35:35
Speaker 4: They still happened. It just happened in a different way.
35:38
Speaker 4: And then after COVID, Judy, the program manager at the time,
35:42
Speaker 4: had had promised those clients as soon as they were
35:45
Speaker 4: able to get into the AVO, she said, we will
35:47
Speaker 4: let you come and walk in that ceremony and she did.
35:51
Speaker 2: Yeah. Great.
35:51
Speaker 1: So when I know it's probably regressing back to COVID,
35:55
Speaker 1: but were you allowed to do groups and actively participating
35:59
Speaker 1: groups or no.
36:00
Speaker 4: I well, I wasn't in the program at the time,
36:03
Speaker 4: or or a counselor of the program at the time.
36:05
Speaker 4: I was just doing alumni so I was just participating
36:08
Speaker 4: in events and and.
36:09
Speaker 3: What have you.
36:10
Speaker 4: So I'm not really sure exactly how they were doing
36:12
Speaker 4: groups other than doing like telehealth.
36:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, yes, interesting. I understand that you're currently working
36:19
Speaker 2: with someone who's close to graduating.
36:22
Speaker 1: What's it been like to walk alongside someone at their
36:25
Speaker 1: point in their journey.
36:26
Speaker 4: Yes, so I think I'm I'm probably just just as
36:28
Speaker 4: excited almost as as he is, you know, because I
36:32
Speaker 4: you know, I get butterflies in my stomach and it's
36:34
Speaker 4: just like a recharge to my own recovery every graduation.
36:39
Speaker 3: It's such a beautiful experience, you know.
36:42
Speaker 4: So I'm I'm really excited for him, you know, and
36:45
Speaker 4: just want to support him and everything that that.
36:48
Speaker 3: He needs, you know.
36:49
Speaker 4: And at this at this point, he doesn't have very
36:51
Speaker 4: many needs because he's he's he's just met all you know,
36:55
Speaker 4: you know, requirements and everything of the program. So right
36:59
Speaker 4: now it's just kind of like, you know, just being
37:01
Speaker 4: being there for support.
37:03
Speaker 1: So he's kind of he's made it all the way
37:05
Speaker 1: through what you described earlier today AA and the steps
37:08
Speaker 1: and with his sponsor and has got a job and
37:12
Speaker 1: reconnecting into the community and he's ready to graduate the.
37:15
Speaker 3: Right and so he's just doing recovery services and just
37:19
Speaker 3: you know, meeting, meeting with me one.
37:21
Speaker 4: On one and you know, just just gliding on through.
37:26
Speaker 2: I think that's going to be a really meaningful day.
37:28
Speaker 1: I want to be there when that graduation happens to
37:31
Speaker 1: see that, because that's full circle. Could you describe that
37:36
Speaker 1: full circle feeling swhere from the sheriff's car that you
37:39
Speaker 1: described in the book in the back of the sheriff's
37:42
Speaker 1: car and everything that you've been through and then to
37:46
Speaker 1: that day to be on stage at his graduation.
37:51
Speaker 2: And you're going to be highlighting him. That's going to
37:54
Speaker 2: be amazing.
37:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you. It's gonna it's gonna be incredible.
37:57
Speaker 4: To go from being on the stage as as a
38:00
Speaker 4: client graduating, to being on the stage as alumni president speaking,
38:04
Speaker 4: and then to be able to be on the stage
38:06
Speaker 4: as a counselor for the program that helps save my life.
38:10
Speaker 4: It's just it's like it'll be surreal.
38:13
Speaker 2: I can't imagine what that feeling would be like.
38:15
Speaker 1: But we're going to be there for you that day
38:17
Speaker 1: and support you and support the program.
38:20
Speaker 3: Thank you.
38:21
Speaker 1: When you look at your journey now coming full circle,
38:24
Speaker 1: what does this work mean to you every day?
38:27
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, it means everything. So when I get
38:29
Speaker 4: up in the morning, I'm like, I get to go
38:31
Speaker 4: to work. I'm excited. It's it's the it's the job
38:34
Speaker 4: that I've always wanted, you know. I I know that
38:39
Speaker 4: the people that I work with, not not just the clients,
38:43
Speaker 4: but my coworkers. It's like we're a team. I appreciate
38:48
Speaker 4: the people that I work with, you know, we just
38:52
Speaker 4: have a have a good respect.
38:54
Speaker 3: For each other.
38:56
Speaker 4: And because we all we all love our clients, you know,
39:00
Speaker 4: it's you know, it's a healthy, obviously kind of a love,
39:02
Speaker 4: you know, because because to work in this field, as
39:07
Speaker 4: you know, behavioral health, you have to have a certain
39:10
Speaker 4: kind of love for people, you know, So coming coming
39:14
Speaker 4: to work every day is a blessing. It's not just
39:17
Speaker 4: like I have to go to work, It's I get
39:18
Speaker 4: to go to work. Yeah, So I'm so grateful.
39:21
Speaker 2: I know when you're at.
39:22
Speaker 1: The graduations, you can see it through everybody from the judge.
39:25
Speaker 1: Like I said earlier, public defender and district attorney, deputy
39:30
Speaker 1: district attorney, and everybody is just so behind yes.
39:34
Speaker 4: And Terry Peters, who is the public defender. She she
39:38
Speaker 4: is amazing. She's incredible. I mean she works all hours
39:41
Speaker 4: of the night. I mean eleven twelve o'clock at night
39:43
Speaker 4: she is still going and she's just incredible.
39:47
Speaker 3: She just has a heart for everybody as well.
39:49
Speaker 4: And even the district attorney, uh Fusco. He you know,
39:55
Speaker 4: he was instrumental in my own recovery. You know, I
39:58
Speaker 4: ended up having a nickname for him because he because
40:01
Speaker 4: he saved me at one point, because I had this
40:04
Speaker 4: you know, feeling of you know, wanting to give up
40:06
Speaker 4: at one point, you know, and he came out, pulled
40:08
Speaker 4: me into the hallway in the courtroom and was just like, hey,
40:11
Speaker 4: you know, I believe you, and I you know, I
40:15
Speaker 4: kind of wanted to stand, you know, behind me, and
40:17
Speaker 4: that just his his belief in me, his trust is
40:19
Speaker 4: standing behind me, which as a district attorney never ever
40:23
Speaker 4: would stand behind a client, you know what I mean,
40:26
Speaker 4: or behind you know, a criminal, right And his words
40:30
Speaker 4: of telling me that his support and I knew he
40:32
Speaker 4: I knew he meant it. You know, so Deputy District
40:36
Speaker 4: Attorney and Joseph Fusco, you know, really incredible, the entire team.
40:42
Speaker 4: We have an amazing team all the way across all
40:45
Speaker 4: the way across the board. So I'm so grateful and
40:49
Speaker 4: and you're incredible also. We just couldn't we could not
40:51
Speaker 4: ask for a better team.
40:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was great, great up there.
40:55
Speaker 1: At this point, we're going to bring our audience in
40:58
Speaker 1: with community conversation and so pick your first question.
41:04
Speaker 4: My first question is from Ryan, and Ryan wants to
41:07
Speaker 4: know what is one thing you wish more people understood
41:10
Speaker 4: about recovery. Recovery is a choice to have a better life.
41:17
Speaker 3: It's not a punishment.
41:19
Speaker 4: These This is something that recovery something that that you're
41:23
Speaker 4: doing to continue, you know, continue making better choices.
41:29
Speaker 1: You know.
41:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, Well let's try question number two.
41:33
Speaker 3: Then, Okay, Question number two is from Tatiana.
41:39
Speaker 4: From your perspective as a counselor, what makes the biggest
41:43
Speaker 4: difference in someone staying on track? A meeting somebody where
41:49
Speaker 4: they're at is so important. So not everybody is at
41:53
Speaker 4: the same level. It's not you know, it's not just
41:56
Speaker 4: like when when like across the.
42:00
Speaker 1: Right, you know, meeting them where they're I've heard that
42:02
Speaker 1: a lot. Yeah, exactly, the person at their level, where
42:05
Speaker 1: they're at.
42:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.
42:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, So I think that's that's really it's really important,
42:10
Speaker 4: just like supporting supporting them.
42:13
Speaker 2: You know. Good? Great? Then final question number three for
42:17
Speaker 2: you today.
42:20
Speaker 4: Caitlin asked what would you say to someone who's just
42:23
Speaker 4: entering a program and doesn't yet believe change is possible
42:26
Speaker 4: for them? I would say, just just hang on. The
42:30
Speaker 4: miracle hasn't happened yet, but it will. Just trust the process.
42:34
Speaker 4: Some of those terms are kind of cliche, but they
42:38
Speaker 4: they really have meaning in them that, you know, just
42:42
Speaker 4: one step at a time.
42:44
Speaker 1: I've heard almost every graduation, whether it's North South or
42:48
Speaker 1: East County Center for Change, the alumni always say trust
42:53
Speaker 1: the process.
42:54
Speaker 2: You'll get their trust.
42:55
Speaker 1: Go day by day, step by step, and you'll make
42:58
Speaker 1: it through the program.
42:59
Speaker 3: Yeahely.
43:00
Speaker 1: When you think about your journey from the moment back
43:04
Speaker 1: of the sheriff's car to where you are today, what
43:07
Speaker 1: does a second chance mean to you?
43:10
Speaker 4: Wow, thank you again for having me. I really appreciate it. Welcome,
43:16
Speaker 4: But a second second chance means it's just a new life.
43:20
Speaker 4: It just means everything. It gives me the opportunity to
43:24
Speaker 4: turn around and help somebody else, and so I'm just
43:28
Speaker 4: grateful to be able to do that and I hope
43:30
Speaker 4: that I can do that to the best of my ability.
43:33
Speaker 1: Jennifer, I want you to look at me like, I'm
43:35
Speaker 1: a young woman in the backseat of the sheriff's car,
43:38
Speaker 1: and what would you say.
43:39
Speaker 2: To her today?
43:46
Speaker 4: I would tell her, you are loved, you are worthy, you.
44:04
Speaker 3: Can change, you can help others. You are not forgotten.
44:26
Speaker 3: You can do this.
44:27
Speaker 2: Oh that's terrific.
44:29
Speaker 1: Thank you for sharing that. I imagine that was super emotional
44:32
Speaker 1: for you. I can see it. But thank you for
44:35
Speaker 1: sharing that.
44:36
Speaker 2: Thank you, appreciate it. Thank you.
44:39
Speaker 1: Before we wrap up today's episode, I want to take
44:42
Speaker 1: a moment for something that's really important to me, and
44:45
Speaker 1: that's gratitude.
44:47
Speaker 2: It's something I tried to practice every day through a
44:50
Speaker 2: gratitude general.
44:52
Speaker 1: I actually brought it with me, and I encourage you
44:55
Speaker 1: to find a practice that works for you. I'd like
44:58
Speaker 1: to start by recognizing the incredible staff at turn Your
45:02
Speaker 1: compassion dedication make.
45:04
Speaker 2: A difference every single day.
45:06
Speaker 1: I'm also grateful for our drug court programs, North, South
45:10
Speaker 1: and East County Centers for Change, which continue to support
45:14
Speaker 1: people on their path to recovery. And I have gratitude
45:18
Speaker 1: for our partnership with the County of San Diego.
45:20
Speaker 2: Their investment plays a.
45:22
Speaker 1: Critical role in turning lives around.
45:25
Speaker 2: And expanding access to care.
45:27
Speaker 1: When those programs and partnerships come together, they create real
45:31
Speaker 1: opportunities for people to rebuild their lives and move forward.
45:35
Speaker 2: And meaningful ways.
45:36
Speaker 1: And Jennifer, thank you for reminding us what that impact
45:40
Speaker 1: truly looks like. To our listeners. Thank you for spending
45:44
Speaker 1: time with us today. Please like, share, and subscribe. As
45:48
Speaker 1: I close, allow me to share again what drives all.
45:52
Speaker 2: Of us here at turn. There's nothing more.
45:55
Speaker 1: Important than improving lives, and together we are improving lives.
46:00
Speaker 2: I'm Jim Callahan.
46:02
Speaker 1: This has been the Behavioral Health Brief.
46:04
Speaker 2: See you all next time.
46:07
Speaker 1: This has been the behavioral health Brief where insight meets impact.