MySweetEssential: Nexus Recovery Center Inc.

According to Nexus Recovery Center Inc. Executive Director/CEO Heather Emmanuel Ormand,

Why Nexus is essential: Women that have struggled with addiction and substance use disorder truly understand the importance of a safe and supportive community. Looking a sober woman in the eyes, one that has been where you are and knows the agony you feel, is more transformational than any statistics or data you receive telling you that you will literally die if you keep living the way you are right now. An addict or alcoholic cannot think or analyze themselves into sobriety. It is only possible through community.

COVID-19 has stripped so many sober women of our community. Twelve-step meetings are no longer being held in churches.  Churches are closed or access is limited and people are afraid to sit shoulder to shoulder right now. For those with long-term sobriety and a strong support system, we can probably get by with Zoom twelve-step meetings, reading literature and connecting with other sober women via text or calls. But what about the woman struggling in her disease? The woman isolated in an unsafe home without the resources to leave and get treatment? The woman without a place for her children to go while she tries to piece together continuous days of sobriety and start rebuilding their lives? Nexus is here for these women. We are here, every single day even through a pandemic, in the event any one of the women that need our services reach out for help.

Nexus has provided 14,665 days of residential treatment for women during the current health crisis (from March 1 – July 23, 2020). That means over 100 professionals, many of us sober ourselves, have come to work at Nexus each day so our clients would have someone to look in the eyes and tell them recovery is possible. We are here to show them a different way of living. Our Nexus community models empathy, competency, reliability and sustainability for our clients. You can feel the hope and determination when you step foot on our campus. We know we are essential to our clients because we many of us are previous Nexus clients. If not us, who? If not now, when? A woman using heroin and living on the streets may only have a brief moment of willingness to change. Nexus staff must be ready when a woman reaches out for help because she may never reach out again. Her next time using could result in an overdose and death. We are essential because right now, in this moment, treatment may save her life.

I joined Nexus as the Executive Director on June 22, 2020, four months into the COVID crisis. I have never felt as proud or humbled to be a part of something. The Board of Directors, Nexus Auxiliary and Nexus Staff are resilient and show-up for our clients in countless ways. We are Nexus Strong – strong for each other, strong for our clients and strong for the community. I encourage anyone seeking inspiration right now, when the world seems to be filled with so much doubt and despair, to learn more about Nexus. Become a part of this strong community by volunteering (virtual opportunities are available now), donating to our support the sustainability of organization or joining our staff (open positions on website).

* Graphic and photo provided by Nexus Recovery Center Inc.