February 24, 2025 • 16 mins
Few things are harder than recovery from substance use disorder. It can be a challenging, lonely and confusing time. Fortunately, a growing workforce of Peer Recovery Specialists—people drawing on their own lived experiences— provide crucial, non-clinical support to help others navigate their recovery journeys. Our guest is Breyonna Kelton, Peer Recovery Program Director with New Jersey Prevention Network, providing training courses to meet certification requirements, and support peer professionals. For more, visit NJPN.org.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to get connected. Few things are harder
than recovery from substance use disorder. It can be challenging, lonely, confusing. Fortunately,
a growing workforce of peer recovery specialists, people who draw
on their own lived experiences, provide crucial non clinical support
to help others navigate their recovery journeys. Our guest is
Brianna Kelton, peer recovery program director with New Jersey Prevention Network,
(00:35):
providing training courses to meet certification requirements and they support
peer professionals. Brianna Kelton, thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You can find out more about the work about the
group at NJPN dot org. Let's talk first, I think, Brianna,
about what it is to be a peer support worker.
Who are these people? What's the work?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Absolutely so, being a peer recovery specialist means that people
use their recovery experience they've personally navigated having a substance
use disorder or being diagnosed with a mental illness, and
they're navigating their wellness and they're using that experience to
that they've gained from having that first person recovery experience
(01:17):
to support other people. And sometimes that looks like navigating
human processes, helping make referrals that makes sense. Sometimes that
looks like connecting with social services. The variety of connections
vary based on the person's needs. But it's really that
cairing of I've been there, I've done that, I've seen that,
I'm hopeful that that's also possible for you, and I
(01:39):
can embody that hope.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
In my experience and some of the work they do specifically,
I would assume they help people set goals, what else.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Absolutely, So the big piece that depends on where the
person is, right, The big part about recovery work is
meeting the person where they are. So in New Jersey,
and there are similar programs in New York, but in
New Jersey, for example, if somebody experiences an overdose somewhere
and they get medical attention, somebody calls nineber one EMS
comes and provides emergency services.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
If that person goes to the hospital, a.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Recovery specialists dispatch to the hospital to be able to
provide them next step support. You can imagine bedside interventions
look different. Then recovery is put along the consume of care.
Sometimes that's just about compassion. It's like you've experienced the
near death, you know episode out there somewhere.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You may have.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Exhausted every possible resource that you've had before now, but
we're curious that you're still deserving of care, attention, love,
and what do you want to do now? And do
you want to go into detos, you want to find
an impatient program, Like.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
What does that look like for you right now?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
And then sometimes way on the other side, it's somebody
coming into a recovery center. They've been navigating their recovery
pathway for a while, and it's about building community.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
It's like, hey, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I've been working this path. I've been navigating whatever steps
it looks like for me. But I want to build
community in this space because my life looks different than
it did a month ago, a year ago, two years ago.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And I need to find my people now.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And what is the data show about pure support and
its effectiveness?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
So that's the most exciting part.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
It's been showing it works that people are two even
three times more likely to engage in services when there's
somebody there that identifies as having first person recovery experience,
and it's you know, what's really exciting about this is
that it feels familiar and for people who've never navigated
having a substance disorder or even that secondary experience of
(03:36):
having a friend or family member. I try to make
it akin to having a baby. And for me and
I've had two children and they're wonderful and I love
them so much. But when I had my first kid,
my daughter, I was terrified. I didn't know what that
was going to be like and I needed medical advice.
So I went to got my prenatal care. I needed
to know, in the emergency situation of having a baby,
(03:58):
what is the medical information it's available to me, what's
my care plan?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
How are we gonna navigate treatment? But immediately after I
wanted to talk to somebody who had a baby. Why
is the luckybody who've done it? And said like, Okay,
I got the medical self down, but for real, is
it gonna hurt?
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And for real?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Am I gonna feel like myself again? And for real?
Am I gonna know how to love?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
And take care of a kid when I felt like
I was still a kid myself, like what does this
really mean for me? And that's what it's like in
the recovery space. It's like somebody who really gets it
and says like, yeah, you know, you may engage in
clinical services and that may look like medication, that may
look like therapy, that may look like a whole support
(04:41):
team that's there to support you and wrap around care.
A part of that is somebody that's like, this is hard, fair,
you know, this is challenging. It's gonna be something like
you've never experienced before. And for some people, they've navigated
trying to navigate recovery pathways over and over again, so like, hey,
this didn't work for me, this may never work for me.
(05:02):
So you're coming into something feeling like it's impossible, and
the person's there to say, yep, me too, and also
let's try again. And also I'm here to hold your
hand in whatever way you need and walk alongside you
and lieu of drag you through and hope that you
make it. And that's why it's I mean, that's why
it's the most exciting work to do. But that's why
(05:22):
it's something that exponentially gets because you put that out there,
you embody recovery is possible for somebody. They embody that
in turn, and they're able to magnify that experience forward
and forward. And that's how this yield has grown so
much over the last twenty years in so many different ways.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Our guest is Brionna Kelton. She's Peer Recovery Program director
with New Jersey Prevention Network. They provide training courses to
meet certification requirements and they support peer professionals. You can
find out more at NJPN dot org. Let's talk about
the training program. So we're talking about professional roles, pay jobs.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Yes, these are absolutely paid jobs. So the early roots
of recovery of not just recovery work, but peer recovery
specialists working in the field were primarily in volunteer spaces.
So their early roots here are very much just doing
whatever was needed at whatever time to get people to
be supported and build recovery capital. But in the last
dozen or so years, it's been this real mobilization of
(06:23):
the workforce, and some of that has been states really
getting behind funding this. So you mentioned earlier the data
supports that it works. People are more engaged, they're staying
longer in their programmings, and they're building recovery capital exponentially,
so there comes money with that, and programs in states
like New Jersey and also like New York are investing
(06:44):
very intentionally across the good team of care to get
recovery specialists in every space. So that looks like recovery
specialists working in hospitals and detocs and treatment centers and
community centers, doing mobile outreach, working alongside of the law enforcement,
so do mobile reach with police officers at health fairs.
So pretty much everywhere that somebody can engage with somebody
(07:09):
who may look to engage with services, you're probably going
to find somebody with recovery experience there. That title may
look different, you know, some spaces it's I'm a peer,
some spaces it's I'm a recovery specialist.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm working on the care team.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
But in all of that, it just means the person
has the recovery experience.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They're there to provide a direct service.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
They're being compensated typically as a full time employee. There
are still some part time jobs out there to be
able to support somebody along their self directed process of recovery.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Since you talk about all the different areas you can
work in the training program is it's sort of like
you have, like everybody gets a basic training program and
then if you choose a different area, you specialize in
certain things.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
That's a great way to frame it.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
And what's what's kind of particular about our training program
and similar things in other places, is that you don't
train people to be peers like your recovery experience makes
you appear. I can give you that you come to
the table with that, we train you how to use
that recovery experience to serve other people. So that our
based training focuses on the ethics of the work, so
ethical principles and then establishing what it means to support
(08:19):
recovery pathways. So we train in multiple pathways of recovery.
You know, very early in a lot of this work,
people were just dated step work. They you know, took
people to a NA meetings and they were like, hey, go.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
To your meetings or your steps.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Here's how you navigate sustained and meaningful recovery. Now we
know in every state, in every area of the country,
that recovery looks different for every person. So we train
in the full spectrum of your support meanings available in
resources that are available in harm reduction resources. Very often medication,
(08:53):
the utilization of medication was super stigmatized. It was that,
you know, if you went on medication to alleviate those
initial cravings, or we're on a long term medication protocol
to support you, you aren't in real recovery. That's not real.
You need to be obstinate or it's not worth anything.
And we know now also not true. Other people are
(09:14):
living very meaningful and very sustaining recovery processes on medication
for long term and we train in that too. So
it's about getting all the tools so that the person
is well versed in being able to support other people,
and then going out there and figuring out which tool
makes sense for the person that you're helping, because every
tool doesn't apply.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So the training basics, how long is it, depending on
of course what you're working in, and how much does
it cost.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Sure So for us, we offer forty six hours of
training and ethics and multiple pathways of recovery in order
to get the entry level training for certification. That's paired
with five hundred working hours, and then somebody can pursue
certification in Jersey. It's a very similar certify PSS in
New York of forty six hours. In New Jersey, our
(10:03):
training program is completely free. We're funded by the New
Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which means
that when people work or volunteer in New Jersey state
funded initiative, they pay. There's no out of pocket costs
to train with MJPN.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
How does MJPN help with placement?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
So we've been working and we lean on the fact
that we've been in this space for a lot of years,
so you know, over twenty years we've been having integrated
or benefited from having so many well established relationships with
so many organizations. So which means you come to us,
you train, you complete all the training you need for
a certification, and if you're not already aligned with an agency,
(10:43):
then we circle with where you're physically located. So you
tell me you're in Ocean County. Then we start talking
to the recovery centers in that county and we work
with the supervisors there that we're pretty closely connected with
to get you either in the door as a part
time employee or force. I'm employeed based on where your
capacity is.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
So it sounds like a very intrusive question, but everybody's wondering.
Of course, once you get a job in this field,
what kind of salaries are you talking about? That?
Speaker 4 (11:10):
No, that's a good question though it really depends on
where you are in the state and what kind of
work you do. So in community recoverygnitionatives like recovery centers,
we're seeing the entry work being you are between forty
to fifty thousand dollars a year when people are working
in hospital, which is more like crisis type work, so
(11:30):
like imagine a little bit higher stress, you know, a
little bit longer hours, a lot of times there's overnight differential.
You're talking about a little bit more money, like closer
to the fifty. It's not an and we've been working
on the advocacy side to do everything we can to
increase the wages in this space because it is definitely
an underpaid position and we know how critical the recovery experiences.
(11:54):
So we've been working to align with what's needed and
also to navigate what does it mean for a lot
lot of roles to be aligned with educational experience that
is not necessarily aligned with what this work is, so
you don't need to have a master's degree to be
able to look for somebody in their recovery experience or
(12:16):
navigate their pathways. But so much of just our country
system is you know, a bachelor's degree means us, a
master's degree means this.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So there's kind of a lot of we have a
lot of.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Arms with an agency in all the spaces where we
work with the agencies at a local level to say like, hey,
is the pay that you're putting out their fare for
the work that you're expecting, And then you know in
a national level, like are we as a state aligning
with the expectations of the value of the experience in
the same way that we're waiting education.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
This work is in demand. I would assume part of
the reason we're having this conversation. You did say that
New York and New Jersey are as states interested in
funding it. They're proactive in funding it. But how are
you looking at federal cuts? We assume we'll have cuts.
How does that infect your work?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
That is the question of the day.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Everybody wants to know how the cuts are going to
affect the nonprofits and I think similar to us, every
nonprofit around the country is having the same conversation. We
really don't know as not a great answer right now,
we don't know how the budget cuts are going to
affect us. What we're doing right now is strategically looking
at our programming how to ensure we can serve people
(13:33):
in the best possible way as long as we can
serve them. We know that marginalized communities, black and brown communities,
people how identify as trans are needing the support in
this space more than ever, and we're being very, very
intentional about ensuring that we are mindful on our approach
and supporting these populations because we've seen what happens in
(13:56):
New Jersey. We've experienced a D three s gratefully in
the number of deaths from related to overdose yury, but
we've been experiencing an increase in those deaths in black
and brown communities. So we've been able to kind of
really look at it quickly. You know, we're not waiting
fifteen years to look at these statistics. It's like the
numbers drop and immediately, how do we shift the focus,
(14:16):
How do we change the conversation to ensure that our
people are being met with their needs? In a way
that reflects the cultural diversity of our population.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So finally, thinking about the people who are actually going
to do the work, the peer recovery specialists, what do
they say about how the work impacts them and their
own recovery.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
It's very often the case that when people mention navigating
big changes in their recovery pathway, and early in their
recovery pathway, they talk about what does it need to
feel seen by somebody who's had the same experience. And
we were at the challenge where having this paid position
as a recovery specialists is something that's only existed in
(14:57):
New Jersey in this integrated way for about twelve years.
So just now we're experiencing people that are having those
like aha moments were they're in the field now talking
about like I had this for me, you know, I
had somebody at the hospital saying like, hey, you know,
you deserve another chance. And so we're getting these testimonials a.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Week after week.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
We just ran a big evaluation where somebody said, you know,
this changed my life. Having somebody that looked like me
saying that I was deserving of like another shot, like
give myself another shot.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Meant everything And I think.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Not only does it make the work we're doing, but
I very selfishly do this work because I told you
I have two kids and I want to make sure
that the space that they're in allows for them to
have this refuge should they ever experience navigating some of
these critical challenges, that there are people that look like them,
they can offer this support in a way that's that
(15:56):
doesn't judge them, you know, that loves them, that cares
on them, that's compassionate. It shows them that they're value
and they're seeing it, and I think it means everything.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Our guest is Brionnakelton of New Jersey Prevention Network. You
can find out more about their work and their training
courses at NJPN dot org. Brianna, thank you for being
on Get Connected.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to get connected. Few things are harder
than recovery from substance use disorder. It can be challenging, lonely, confusing. Fortunately,
a growing workforce of peer recovery specialists, people who draw
on their own lived experiences, provide crucial non clinical support
to help others navigate their recovery journeys. Our guest is
Brianna Kelton, peer recovery program director with New Jersey Prevention Network,
(00:35):
providing training courses to meet certification requirements and they support
peer professionals. Brianna Kelton, thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You can find out more about the work about the
group at NJPN dot org. Let's talk first, I think, Brianna,
about what it is to be a peer support worker.
Who are these people? What's the work?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Absolutely so, being a peer recovery specialist means that people
use their recovery experience they've personally navigated having a substance
use disorder or being diagnosed with a mental illness, and
they're navigating their wellness and they're using that experience to
that they've gained from having that first person recovery experience
(01:17):
to support other people. And sometimes that looks like navigating
human processes, helping make referrals that makes sense. Sometimes that
looks like connecting with social services. The variety of connections
vary based on the person's needs. But it's really that
cairing of I've been there, I've done that, I've seen that,
I'm hopeful that that's also possible for you, and I
(01:39):
can embody that hope.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
In my experience and some of the work they do specifically,
I would assume they help people set goals, what else.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Absolutely, So the big piece that depends on where the
person is, right, The big part about recovery work is
meeting the person where they are. So in New Jersey,
and there are similar programs in New York, but in
New Jersey, for example, if somebody experiences an overdose somewhere
and they get medical attention, somebody calls nineber one EMS
comes and provides emergency services.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
If that person goes to the hospital, a.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Recovery specialists dispatch to the hospital to be able to
provide them next step support. You can imagine bedside interventions
look different. Then recovery is put along the consume of care.
Sometimes that's just about compassion. It's like you've experienced the
near death, you know episode out there somewhere.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You may have.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Exhausted every possible resource that you've had before now, but
we're curious that you're still deserving of care, attention, love,
and what do you want to do now? And do
you want to go into detos, you want to find
an impatient program, Like.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
What does that look like for you right now?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
And then sometimes way on the other side, it's somebody
coming into a recovery center. They've been navigating their recovery
pathway for a while, and it's about building community.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
It's like, hey, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I've been working this path. I've been navigating whatever steps
it looks like for me. But I want to build
community in this space because my life looks different than
it did a month ago, a year ago, two years ago.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And I need to find my people now.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And what is the data show about pure support and
its effectiveness?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
So that's the most exciting part.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
It's been showing it works that people are two even
three times more likely to engage in services when there's
somebody there that identifies as having first person recovery experience,
and it's you know, what's really exciting about this is
that it feels familiar and for people who've never navigated
having a substance disorder or even that secondary experience of
(03:36):
having a friend or family member. I try to make
it akin to having a baby. And for me and
I've had two children and they're wonderful and I love
them so much. But when I had my first kid,
my daughter, I was terrified. I didn't know what that
was going to be like and I needed medical advice.
So I went to got my prenatal care. I needed
to know, in the emergency situation of having a baby,
(03:58):
what is the medical information it's available to me, what's
my care plan?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
How are we gonna navigate treatment? But immediately after I
wanted to talk to somebody who had a baby. Why
is the luckybody who've done it? And said like, Okay,
I got the medical self down, but for real, is
it gonna hurt?
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And for real?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Am I gonna feel like myself again? And for real?
Am I gonna know how to love?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
And take care of a kid when I felt like
I was still a kid myself, like what does this
really mean for me? And that's what it's like in
the recovery space. It's like somebody who really gets it
and says like, yeah, you know, you may engage in
clinical services and that may look like medication, that may
look like therapy, that may look like a whole support
(04:41):
team that's there to support you and wrap around care.
A part of that is somebody that's like, this is hard, fair,
you know, this is challenging. It's gonna be something like
you've never experienced before. And for some people, they've navigated
trying to navigate recovery pathways over and over again, so like, hey,
this didn't work for me, this may never work for me.
(05:02):
So you're coming into something feeling like it's impossible, and
the person's there to say, yep, me too, and also
let's try again. And also I'm here to hold your
hand in whatever way you need and walk alongside you
and lieu of drag you through and hope that you
make it. And that's why it's I mean, that's why
it's the most exciting work to do. But that's why
(05:22):
it's something that exponentially gets because you put that out there,
you embody recovery is possible for somebody. They embody that
in turn, and they're able to magnify that experience forward
and forward. And that's how this yield has grown so
much over the last twenty years in so many different ways.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Our guest is Brionna Kelton. She's Peer Recovery Program director
with New Jersey Prevention Network. They provide training courses to
meet certification requirements and they support peer professionals. You can
find out more at NJPN dot org. Let's talk about
the training program. So we're talking about professional roles, pay jobs.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Yes, these are absolutely paid jobs. So the early roots
of recovery of not just recovery work, but peer recovery
specialists working in the field were primarily in volunteer spaces.
So their early roots here are very much just doing
whatever was needed at whatever time to get people to
be supported and build recovery capital. But in the last
dozen or so years, it's been this real mobilization of
(06:23):
the workforce, and some of that has been states really
getting behind funding this. So you mentioned earlier the data
supports that it works. People are more engaged, they're staying
longer in their programmings, and they're building recovery capital exponentially,
so there comes money with that, and programs in states
like New Jersey and also like New York are investing
(06:44):
very intentionally across the good team of care to get
recovery specialists in every space. So that looks like recovery
specialists working in hospitals and detocs and treatment centers and
community centers, doing mobile outreach, working alongside of the law enforcement,
so do mobile reach with police officers at health fairs.
So pretty much everywhere that somebody can engage with somebody
(07:09):
who may look to engage with services, you're probably going
to find somebody with recovery experience there. That title may
look different, you know, some spaces it's I'm a peer,
some spaces it's I'm a recovery specialist.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm working on the care team.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
But in all of that, it just means the person
has the recovery experience.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They're there to provide a direct service.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
They're being compensated typically as a full time employee. There
are still some part time jobs out there to be
able to support somebody along their self directed process of recovery.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Since you talk about all the different areas you can
work in the training program is it's sort of like
you have, like everybody gets a basic training program and
then if you choose a different area, you specialize in
certain things.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
That's a great way to frame it.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
And what's what's kind of particular about our training program
and similar things in other places, is that you don't
train people to be peers like your recovery experience makes
you appear. I can give you that you come to
the table with that, we train you how to use
that recovery experience to serve other people. So that our
based training focuses on the ethics of the work, so
ethical principles and then establishing what it means to support
(08:19):
recovery pathways. So we train in multiple pathways of recovery.
You know, very early in a lot of this work,
people were just dated step work. They you know, took
people to a NA meetings and they were like, hey, go.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
To your meetings or your steps.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Here's how you navigate sustained and meaningful recovery. Now we
know in every state, in every area of the country,
that recovery looks different for every person. So we train
in the full spectrum of your support meanings available in
resources that are available in harm reduction resources. Very often medication,
(08:53):
the utilization of medication was super stigmatized. It was that,
you know, if you went on medication to alleviate those
initial cravings, or we're on a long term medication protocol
to support you, you aren't in real recovery. That's not real.
You need to be obstinate or it's not worth anything.
And we know now also not true. Other people are
(09:14):
living very meaningful and very sustaining recovery processes on medication
for long term and we train in that too. So
it's about getting all the tools so that the person
is well versed in being able to support other people,
and then going out there and figuring out which tool
makes sense for the person that you're helping, because every
tool doesn't apply.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So the training basics, how long is it, depending on
of course what you're working in, and how much does
it cost.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Sure So for us, we offer forty six hours of
training and ethics and multiple pathways of recovery in order
to get the entry level training for certification. That's paired
with five hundred working hours, and then somebody can pursue
certification in Jersey. It's a very similar certify PSS in
New York of forty six hours. In New Jersey, our
(10:03):
training program is completely free. We're funded by the New
Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which means
that when people work or volunteer in New Jersey state
funded initiative, they pay. There's no out of pocket costs
to train with MJPN.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
How does MJPN help with placement?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
So we've been working and we lean on the fact
that we've been in this space for a lot of years,
so you know, over twenty years we've been having integrated
or benefited from having so many well established relationships with
so many organizations. So which means you come to us,
you train, you complete all the training you need for
a certification, and if you're not already aligned with an agency,
(10:43):
then we circle with where you're physically located. So you
tell me you're in Ocean County. Then we start talking
to the recovery centers in that county and we work
with the supervisors there that we're pretty closely connected with
to get you either in the door as a part
time employee or force. I'm employeed based on where your
capacity is.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
So it sounds like a very intrusive question, but everybody's wondering.
Of course, once you get a job in this field,
what kind of salaries are you talking about? That?
Speaker 4 (11:10):
No, that's a good question though it really depends on
where you are in the state and what kind of
work you do. So in community recoverygnitionatives like recovery centers,
we're seeing the entry work being you are between forty
to fifty thousand dollars a year when people are working
in hospital, which is more like crisis type work, so
(11:30):
like imagine a little bit higher stress, you know, a
little bit longer hours, a lot of times there's overnight differential.
You're talking about a little bit more money, like closer
to the fifty. It's not an and we've been working
on the advocacy side to do everything we can to
increase the wages in this space because it is definitely
an underpaid position and we know how critical the recovery experiences.
(11:54):
So we've been working to align with what's needed and
also to navigate what does it mean for a lot
lot of roles to be aligned with educational experience that
is not necessarily aligned with what this work is, so
you don't need to have a master's degree to be
able to look for somebody in their recovery experience or
(12:16):
navigate their pathways. But so much of just our country
system is you know, a bachelor's degree means us, a
master's degree means this.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So there's kind of a lot of we have a
lot of.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Arms with an agency in all the spaces where we
work with the agencies at a local level to say like, hey,
is the pay that you're putting out their fare for
the work that you're expecting, And then you know in
a national level, like are we as a state aligning
with the expectations of the value of the experience in
the same way that we're waiting education.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
This work is in demand. I would assume part of
the reason we're having this conversation. You did say that
New York and New Jersey are as states interested in
funding it. They're proactive in funding it. But how are
you looking at federal cuts? We assume we'll have cuts.
How does that infect your work?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
That is the question of the day.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Everybody wants to know how the cuts are going to
affect the nonprofits and I think similar to us, every
nonprofit around the country is having the same conversation. We
really don't know as not a great answer right now,
we don't know how the budget cuts are going to
affect us. What we're doing right now is strategically looking
at our programming how to ensure we can serve people
(13:33):
in the best possible way as long as we can
serve them. We know that marginalized communities, black and brown communities,
people how identify as trans are needing the support in
this space more than ever, and we're being very, very
intentional about ensuring that we are mindful on our approach
and supporting these populations because we've seen what happens in
(13:56):
New Jersey. We've experienced a D three s gratefully in
the number of deaths from related to overdose yury, but
we've been experiencing an increase in those deaths in black
and brown communities. So we've been able to kind of
really look at it quickly. You know, we're not waiting
fifteen years to look at these statistics. It's like the
numbers drop and immediately, how do we shift the focus,
(14:16):
How do we change the conversation to ensure that our
people are being met with their needs? In a way
that reflects the cultural diversity of our population.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So finally, thinking about the people who are actually going
to do the work, the peer recovery specialists, what do
they say about how the work impacts them and their
own recovery.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
It's very often the case that when people mention navigating
big changes in their recovery pathway, and early in their
recovery pathway, they talk about what does it need to
feel seen by somebody who's had the same experience. And
we were at the challenge where having this paid position
as a recovery specialists is something that's only existed in
(14:57):
New Jersey in this integrated way for about twelve years.
So just now we're experiencing people that are having those
like aha moments were they're in the field now talking
about like I had this for me, you know, I
had somebody at the hospital saying like, hey, you know,
you deserve another chance. And so we're getting these testimonials a.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Week after week.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
We just ran a big evaluation where somebody said, you know,
this changed my life. Having somebody that looked like me
saying that I was deserving of like another shot, like
give myself another shot.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Meant everything And I think.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Not only does it make the work we're doing, but
I very selfishly do this work because I told you
I have two kids and I want to make sure
that the space that they're in allows for them to
have this refuge should they ever experience navigating some of
these critical challenges, that there are people that look like them,
they can offer this support in a way that's that
(15:56):
doesn't judge them, you know, that loves them, that cares
on them, that's compassionate. It shows them that they're value
and they're seeing it, and I think it means everything.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Our guest is Brionnakelton of New Jersey Prevention Network. You
can find out more about their work and their training
courses at NJPN dot org. Brianna, thank you for being
on Get Connected.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com