Ep70 Addiction Treatment Elevating Peer Support Specialists

Ep70 Addiction Treatment Elevating Peer Support Specialists

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

[00:00:02] Chris Langley (he-him): Hi, welcome to Addiction Recovery Place Podcast, the podcast championing addiction treatment professionals around the world. I'm your host, Chris Langley, and I'm pleased to introduce Anthony Worthy, who's today's guest. Anthony is a National Certified Peer Specialist at Boulder Care, Peer Support Specialist, as well as a Nationally Recognized Forensic Peer Recovery Provider. Welcome to Addiction Recovery Place Podcast, Anthony. It's great to have you with us today.

[00:00:27] Anthony Worthy (he-him): It's great. The pleasure is all mine, Chris. National Reentry Coalition.

[00:00:29] Chris Langley (he-him): No, we really appreciate you, you joining us. And, I'd love to, tell our audience about your journey because you've, had an incredible journey to, being where you are now. So what I'd like to do is just start off with the, with a question is can you tell us about yourself and your journey as to how you became a peer support re- specialist?

[00:00:48] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Okay, my journey into peer support began when I was locked up in Pennsylvania. During that time, I became familiar with the concept of peer support and witnessed firsthand how it could help others, how the lived experience could have, a hold on other people and make them want to engage in care instead of run from it.

So I enrolled in peer support training. I did the 40-hour training, but I wasn't able to complete it because I got released. I didn't take the certification test until I was released.

[00:01:24] Chris Langley (he-him): so how old were, you, when you, decided to, start this career?

[00:01:29] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So I would say maybe '27, '28. It was like towards the end of me doing time. I got released January 13, 2020, a little bit before like pandemic that kind of put like a stagnant pause on it because nobody was really doing any trainings even virtually at the time. And then when I came to Washington in 2020, I Certified as a Certified Peer Counselor, but now it's a credential.

It's a peer support specialist. So it went from just like a certificate to a whole credential, which is amazing to me .

[00:02:10] Chris Langley (he-him): That's, so how long did that take for that, for this, to occur from your start to when you became, to where you are now?

[00:02:18] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So doing the training to the middle part to becoming like a peer counselor, I'd say it was like two or three years. Then the end of last year, maybe like mid-September, I got the credential of a peer support specialist finally after a year of going back and forth with the DOH.

[00:02:43] Chris Langley (he-him): firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on

everything that you've achieved so far. We've, spoken on a couple of occasions before, and it's always, it's always such an inspiring story, which is why I wanted to have you on the podcast and, I wanted our audience to hear your journey 'cause it's, quite incredible, to be honest.

And, so what were some of the challenges that you faced when you started your career, Anthony? What would you say were the biggest hurdles that, that you overcame?

[00:03:10] Anthony Worthy (he-him): I'll say one of the biggest challenges for me was how to use my lived experience effectively and be professional. early on in my career, I wanted to help everyone, but I had to learn the importance of boundaries, active listening, and allowing people to, control their own path in life than trying to just be a fixer

[00:03:35] Chris Langley (he-him): what sort of support did you receive when you started your career? what, what support did you actually receive?

[00:03:44] Anthony Worthy (he-him): To be honest, like it was still kinda like new to a lot of people, so it was really not that much support in the sense of to do or how to go about things. I see like recently at times now they have like supervisions of peer specialist training. So initially it was like winging it. They'll just go by the manual and stuff like that.

But now I see it's like getting one-on-one supervisions once a week or every other week, and like they're making sure that your mental health and you are staying focused on what you gotta do. I first started, it was just like a free-for-all, like you were treated the same as case managers, as nurses like that when it comes to supervision or even how you were supposed to do things.

And then like people like NAADAC and other people came out with like scopes of practice, and that kinda changed this trajectory of what was going on. this is what a peer support does. This is what a case manager does. This is what a licensed therapist does

[00:04:53] Chris Langley (he-him): So you've, seen some real changes in the, not, short time you've been doing this, you've been doing this for quite a while, but over the period of time that you've been in your career, you've actually seen some structural changes within how this is organized and how supportive, other organizations can be for peer support workers.

Is that right, would you say?

[00:05:11] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Yes, that's very much true. I even see now peers supervising other peers, which I'm all for because I feel that we're capable of supervision and supervising ourselves because who knows the scope of practice better than peer specialists over other peer specialists? yeah, we have been given the chance to do that.

Like I said, it's a credential now, so it's more professional .

[00:05:37] Chris Langley (he-him): That's amazing. It's, quite incredible to hear that, peer, h- how more popular peer support is actually getting within the addiction field, and, it's, quite incredible. can you tell us about your work so far and what you've experienced in that time you've been doing this for?

[00:05:54] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So throughout my career, I have worked in homeless outreach, behavior health settings, substance use treatment, and like reentry services. Today, I support individuals across the country. my main occupation is working at BoldaCare as a peer recovery specialist, I help members access treatment, build recovery capital, overcome barriers to treatment.

I also had the privilege of, witnessing, people change their lives. I ain't gonna say, everybody you encounter is, some life-changing transformation, but I also seen, people reconnect with their families, attain housing, like secure employment, regain custody of their children, and celebrate like multiple years of recovery.

So those are pretty much the moments that remind me like why the work I do matter .

[00:06:51] Chris Langley (he-him): It's, it's incredibly inspiring work. And, was there anyone in particular that you would say who's been an inspiration to you so far, Anthony?

[00:06:59] Anthony Worthy (he-him): To be honest, I'm gonna say I've been inspired by like multiple peer support supervisors and like other leaders in the recovery community. However, my greatest inspiration comes with just serving the people. that's where I get my satisfaction from, like assisting others that are in need

[00:07:19] Chris Langley (he-him): Absolutely. Absolutely. what advice would you give to anyone who's listening to this podcast who is maybe considering becoming a peer support specialist? What would you say to them?

[00:07:29] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So in layman terms, my advice would be to them, never underestimate the value of your story. somebody's story and your perception of a story is very powerful. Like, being a peer support is not about me having, like, all the answers. It's about using my lived experience to create connection, maybe inspire hope for others, and walk alongside others in their recovery journey

[00:07:58] Chris Langley (he-him): you mentioned NAADAC earlier, Anthony. You sit on quite a few boards and organizations, and as I, read out in your introduction. can you tell our audience about some of these and how you became part of these organizations?

[00:08:11] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Okay. I currently serve as the chair for Peer Recovery and Support Services, Committee for WAADAC, also serve on the WAADAC board of Directors. Additionally, I've been involved in leadership and advocacy efforts with the National Reentry Coalition, which she offered me even though it's a volunteer position, and we've been, like, building back and forth for months, like being the director of reentry ambassadors for that Re- National Reentry Coalition.

So pretty much I look forward to connecting the dots for other people across the country and assisting people that's about to get out or taking the steps to get out and when they, reenter society.

[00:08:56] Chris Langley (he-him): Absolutely. you being on the board of Washington State Affiliate of NAADAC, can, you tell us about your experience and what made you decide to join this board?

[00:09:06] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So I joined the board because I wanted to elevate the voice of peer support specialists within the broader behavior health and addiction workforce. As history has shown, peers have sometimes been overlooked despite the critical role that we do play in the behavior health field. Serving on this board allows me to advocate for peer workforce development, education, certification opportunities, and greater of peers throughout the many systems of care.

To be honest, it's been, like, incredibly rewarding sitting on the board beside people like Cynthia, who used to be on top of NAADAC, so now I get to, feed off of her energy and ask her questions and soak all that up. So that's the type of stuff that brings me joy when it comes to the WAADAC board .

[00:10:02] Chris Langley (he-him): it's an incredible group of people that meets every month, isn't it? It's always

inspiring to come and join those meetings. I've joined a few myself and, it's always very enlightening to, to see such committed workers coming together and to have, you, yourself join the board as well, Anthony.

That's, incredible and, it's just, amazing. As a member of NAADAC now, can you tell us about w- what you get from being a member of this national orga- organization, and would you recommend anyone who is starting their career in this recovery field to maybe join, and why?

[00:10:32] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Yeah, I love NAADAC because NAADAC provides like professional development opportunities, like for your certifi-- in particular for peer supports. You could go on there and get way more than enough than the 30 CEs you need to renew your credential, mostly free on their website. The networking. I love the boards.

They got peer specialists like chat boards, NAADAC does, so I could build with people from different states and feed off that energy as well Yeah, that's pretty much it.

[00:11:08] Chris Langley (he-him): Fabulous. Fabulous. Are you going to any conferences this year at all? Are you gonna be joining anyone this year to go to any conferences?

[00:11:14] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Oh, the, Four Directions Conference, the Evergreen Gambling Council, me and some of the board members are gonna be there. Some of them are gonna be, like, speaking and talking, and me, I'll be at the exhibit booth. I think that's from November 2nd to 5th in Tulalip at the casino and resort .

[00:11:34] Chris Langley (he-him): Excellent. So is this the first time you've actually joined the board in a, conference to attend them together?

[00:11:40] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Yes

[00:11:41] Chris Langley (he-him): Excellent. That sounds, that sounds like an amazing experience for you. I'm sure you're gonna have

a...

[00:11:45] Anthony Worthy (he-him): I can't wait.

[00:11:46] Chris Langley (he-him): gonna, you're gonna get a lot of experience just joining that, I'm sure.

And, it's great to hear that they've, they've got you so involved within that 'cause, it's all about networking as well, and, tell people all about you as well, which is really important. Anthony, I ask all my guests this, in m- in, the 68 podcasts I've done before you. But can you tell us what your opinion and view is as to, how we can remove the stigma of addiction and mental health, trauma so we can have an honest and open conversation?

[00:12:17] Anthony Worthy (he-him): I believe we remove stigma through education, empathy, and once again, storytelling. Like, when people hear directly from individuals, what they went through with addiction and mental health challenges, it helps humanize these issues and break down stereotypes. Because, the big thing we must move away from, I see in the, this field is judgment.

When people feel judged, they're not gonna wanna receive help. I'm not making excuses for anybody, but I just know from lived experience, if I feel somebody judging me, I'm not gonna wanna go say, "Hey Chris, help me." If anything, I'm gonna go backwards, like backpedal. I just feel people should show compassion to people when they're going through stuff.

It's not my job or anybody else's job to dictate and try to tell somebody what to do with their life.

[00:13:12] Chris Langley (he-him): Yeah. Yeah. That beautifully put. It really is. can you tell us what your opinion of harm reduction is and how it can, play a pivotal role in recovery? What are your views on harm reduction?

[00:13:24] Anthony Worthy (he-him): So initially before, coming to Washington, when I heard harm reduction, I used to be like, I was like, to be honest, "Ugh," "Really?" But as I got into the field and actually was out in homeless encampments and at the needle exchanges, I see that harm reduction is a compassionate way to assist others.

Like, when it comes to needles, for instance, you're giving somebody clean needles, it, almost eliminates spread of diseases and stuff of that nature. harm, reduction in layman terms meets people where they're at, point-blank, period, and gives them full control over their destiny

[00:14:05] Chris Langley (he-him): Absolutely. Absolutely. couple of questions, Anthony. Do you have a message for anyone listening to this podcast who is at the moment going through an addiction? What would you say to them?

[00:14:16] Anthony Worthy (he-him): You could overcome this on your own terms. Don't ever let anybody dictate what you want to do. Nobody's perfect.

[00:14:30] Chris Langley (he-him): And, last question. Can you tell our listeners how to maybe contact you and to find you online?

[00:14:37] Anthony Worthy (he-him): You could search me through LinkedIn by searching for Antonio Worthy. I could also be reached at wadacpairchair2025@gmail.com

[00:14:49] Chris Langley (he-him): Anthony, thank you very much indeed for joining us today, and I'm looking forward to sharing your story with, our audience, 'cause I think what

[00:15:00] Anthony Worthy (he-him): I appreciate it,

[00:15:01] Chris Langley (he-him): Yeah, what, you've achieved so far in such a short space of time, Anthony, it's, incredibly inspiring, and it's been a genuine honor for me to have you on the podcast today.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next 10, 20, 30 years, happens for you within your career because I think you're gonna go far, that's for sure. The level of commitment that you've given so far is just outstanding, and I really do salute you. Thank you so much again for joining me.

I appreciate it

[00:15:26] Anthony Worthy (he-him): Thank you as well, Chris