My name is Kristen, and this is my recovery story.
In July of 2022, I came to Avenues Recovery in Clarksville on a furlough from Floyd County Jail. I was five months sober at the time, but sobriety didn’t mean peace. I was facing dealing charges and looking at prison time. No matter how hard I tried to stay hopeful, my future felt sealed.
I had done enough damage in my life that I genuinely believed this was just how things were going to end. Jail felt inevitable. Hope felt unrealistic.
Coming to treatment while still connected to the court system was terrifying. I expected to complete my time at Avenues and then be sent straight back to jail. I didn’t expect anyone to care what happened to me after that.
But early on, something happened that changed everything.
The Clinical Director at the time, Megan Stevenson, reached out to the courts on my behalf. She advocated for me and helped get my furlough extended so I didn’t have to return to jail right away. I couldn’t believe it. People I had never met were willing to stand up for me.
That moment gave me something I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope.
After completing treatment at Avenues, I moved into a halfway house. I didn’t have much, but I had willingness. I got a job and rode my bike to work every day. I found a sponsor. I committed to ninety meetings in ninety days.
Life wasn’t easy, but it was honest. For the first time, I was showing up consistently. I started saving money. Eventually, I bought a car, which made everyday life feel more manageable. After five months, I was able to get my own apartment.
With each step, my confidence grew. I started to believe that maybe I could build a future instead of just surviving my past.
After a year sober, on March 22, 2023, I came back to Avenues—not as a client, but just to say thank you. I wanted the staff to know how much they had changed my life.
While I was there, I worked up the courage to ask a question that scared me: Could I work here?
They said yes.
On April 21, 2023, I started at Avenues Clarksville as a Behavioral Health Technician. Five months later, I was promoted to Medical Liaison. Not long after that, I applied for a Case Manager position—and I got it.
I was overwhelmed with gratitude. With each promotion came more responsibility, more trust, and more stability. I was able to buy a better car. I was building a life I never thought I’d have.
Today, I’ve been a Case Manager for almost two years. I recently bought my first home. I’m studying to earn my CADAC so that I can continue growing as a counselor here at Avenues.
One of the things I’m most proud of is that I was the first Avenues Clarksville alumnus to be hired. That means everything to me. I get to walk alongside people who feel the way I once did—hopeless, scared, unsure if their life can really change.
Recovery gave me more than sobriety. It gave me dignity. Stability. Purpose. A future.
I am grateful every day for Avenues and for the people who believed in me before I believed in myself. I show up to work with passion because I know what it feels like to be on the other side, and I know how powerful it is when someone says, You’re worth fighting for.
If my life can change this much, anyone’s can.