Samantha Ellis Johnson told Warren Lions Club Wednesday her life story of drug addiction and how she overcame it to help not only herself but others.
At the age of 12-13, she started using marijuana and later added crystal meth. She went into rehab but soon was back at her drug habits. She later spent three months in jail and during that time, she said she got saved and tried to turn her life around. Her habits had caused her to lose custody of her three children and she worked to get them back into her life.
Top photo: Samantha Johnson, right, was the guest speaker at Warren Lions Club Wednesday. She is shown with Lions President Neeley Vance. Johnson is the peer recovery specialist at Bradley County Medical Center. Photo by Tim Kessler.
Johnson went into a sober living home and in the past seven years, she got her kids back and was able to get several jobs.
She currently works under an Arkansas Rural Health Partnership grant as a peer recovery specialist at Bradley County Medical Center. She hopes to soon open a sober living home in Kingsland.
A peer recovery specialist is someone who is in long-term recovery from addiction. The specialist is a peer advocate and role model who can provide treatment and recovery resources. Some of the resources available include medical detox, outpatient programs. Sober living homes, treatment facilities, chem-free housing and recovery meetings.
For more information, call Johnson at 226-3731.