BRC Recovery’s Bringing Real Change
To some it may seem that moving back home to the Northeast in the midst of a heroin pandemic was completely irrational, but today I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have been given the rare opportunity to carry the message of hope to those suffering from the disease of addiction in my community through BRC Recovery’s Bringing Real Change NE Citywide Meeting. Growing up in small town New England was everything out of a story book. The fresh cut green grass, the vibrant colors of the autumn leaves and the cheering on the sidelines at Friday night football games. It was perfect, or so it appeared. My life took a devastating turn when OxyContin became my new best friend, my mentor, and love. The OxyContin boom not only took my freedom, but it took a hold on the Northeast as well. Prescription pills became my normal mode of operating. Every city was affected by this devastating little pill. It created and opiate epidemic that would forever change our neighborhoods. For years that one little pill held me in the palm of its hand until I collapsed. I reached a new low claiming the cheaper, faster, heroin as my drug of no choice. I was addicted. Eventually, I ended up robbing the college I was attending for close to ten thousand dollars. They told me I had to leave and the look on their faces told me that they never wanted to see me again. I had not only ruined my life, but my education as well. It was over. The gig was up. The idea that I could be recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body seemed unfathomable to me at the time. I had been to over ten treatment centers coupled with countless stints in detoxes attempting to spin dry my life into a state that was merely manageable. Surviving through homelessness, state prison, and heroin addiction was my sign from God that I was meant to be on this earth. I was meant to be someone better. God absolutely wanted that for me. Getting sober at BRC Recovery changed my life. I was able to connect to a Power that I call God and experience ultimate freedom. Not only a physical freedom from the substances, but more importantly a spiritual and emotional liberation as well. I took this last chance at life and grabbed it by the horns. Newly sober, I began applying back to colleges in an attempt to complete my Bachelors in Family Studies. I submitted applications to numerous colleges in Texas and took a long shot applying back at the same school I had once robbed. Through what I recognize today as the orchestration of God, that same college allowed me to come back. My readmission was contingent on my willingness to make proper amends and pay all the money back that I had stolen. I was able to do that and more. Six months ago I graduated from that college, with honors. I believe I owed that to them. After completing my Bachelor’s, I began working for BRC Recovery as their Outreach Coordinator for the Northeast Region. It has truly been the most gratifying experience of my life. It is my obligation as a woman in recovery to make every effort in turning the tide up here in the Northeast. We are dying at lightning speed from the combination of fentanyl and minimal treatment facilities. I do my job and stay in the trenches fighting for those who are unable to do it for themselves. Day in and day out I meet with community members, judges, lawyers, probation officers, school principals, and the those seeking recovery to tell them that addiction does not have to be a death sentence. That we need to pull together as one. That people do recover and make it through anything. That you can make a living amends to the same community you once took everything from. It is my duty to my community to be on the firing line for them and to be the change they want to see. I am honored to have an opportunity to live the motto “love thy neighbor as thyself”. That my friends, is the true definition of coming full circle. For being given this second chance to be a connector, I am eternally grateful. 
Lauryn Crutchfield, Outreach Coordinator/Northeast Region BRC Recovery For more information about the BRC Recovery Bringing Real Change NE Citywide Meeting, please contact Lauryn Crutchfield via email at lcrutchfield@brcmultisitede.wpengine.com. Also, join our group on Facebook for up-to-date meeting information, times, and speakers at Bringing Real Change NE Citywide Meeting.