[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1376},["ShallowReactive",2],{"sanity-FgvXuKw39a":3,"sanity-KLXAj6Md9s":12,"sanity-20jIASo3cp":1213},{"_createdAt":4,"_id":5,"_rev":6,"_type":7,"_updatedAt":8,"name":9,"nav_donate_link":10,"nav_fundraise_link":11},"2024-09-30T01:16:08Z","d54a3beb-5bc7-4a08-9614-a7fed5276091","a0rhxOMq2E1nfR5ge0KLAh","pages","2025-02-28T22:34:20Z","GLOBAL","https://donate.endoverdose.net/give/546264/#!/donation/checkout","https://donate.endoverdose.net/campaign/fundraise-for-end-overdose/c548625",[13,300,947],{"_createdAt":14,"_id":15,"_rev":16,"_system":17,"_type":20,"_updatedAt":21,"article":22,"author_ref":287,"category":290,"date":291,"image":292,"slug":296,"title":299},"2025-08-15T18:38:41Z","a334ac29-b709-4a40-a7c2-d3a42c42434a","rXFx7vJUsmlaA6iqbtkk4V",{"base":18},{"id":15,"rev":19},"8ztm3cRdTD7y7Mmk7tDuTD","news","2025-08-15T21:07:58Z",[23,34,42,62,73,85,97,105,117,129,137,148,159,167,178,189,197,208,216,227,238,246,257,268,276],{"_key":24,"_type":25,"children":26,"markDefs":32,"style":33},"8a6d7811f38e","block",[27],{"_key":28,"_type":29,"marks":30,"text":31},"841b229c108b","span",[],"A crucial aspect of overdose response is training not only first responders, but the average citizen who will become equipped with the knowledge and resources to reverse an overdose before emergency services arrive. This notion can be extrapolated to all forms of emergency response, whether it’s residents learning how to evacuate when responding to a wildfire, or students knowing how to find safety during the chaos of an active shooter. This information is crucial to communicate to the general public, which is where Ketaily Technical Consulting comes in.",[],"normal",{"_key":35,"_type":25,"children":36,"markDefs":41,"style":33},"83ca43162c10",[37],{"_key":38,"_type":29,"marks":39,"text":40},"47b93aab4019",[],"Founded by a father-and-son duo with over 45 collective years of experience in Southern California fire departments, Mike and Tim Ketaily are experts in all forms of emergency response, from crisis communications and risk assessments, to fire, life, and safety preparedness. Their work has made a tangible impact on institutions like community colleges throughout Southern California and is continuing to grow in size and scope.",[],{"_key":43,"_type":25,"children":44,"markDefs":58,"style":33},"fef4a00a70be",[45,49,54],{"_key":46,"_type":29,"marks":47,"text":48},"b7872a1f0292",[],"In honor of International Overdose Awareness Day, we’re proud to collaborate with Ketaily Technical Consulting on a series of videos in the coming weeks that will explain how to use naloxone when it's needed most. In advance of those videos, we’re excited to share an interview with Mike and Tim and dive into their background and expertise that powers their work throughout the state. Read on below, and if you want more information on Ketaily Technical Consulting, head to their website ",{"_key":50,"_type":29,"marks":51,"text":53},"713633a17b12",[52],"9eea5b9fca5f","here",{"_key":55,"_type":29,"marks":56,"text":57},"5a17a0f09f64",[],".",[59],{"_key":52,"_type":60,"href":61},"link","https://www.ketailytechnicalconsulting.com/",{"_key":63,"_type":25,"children":64,"markDefs":72,"style":33},"1f090463f3b1",[65],{"_key":66,"_type":29,"marks":67,"text":71},"09d98635600a",[68,69,70],"strong","underline","em","Can you tell me about your background as first responders? What inspired you to initially enter the field?",[],{"_key":74,"_type":25,"children":75,"markDefs":84,"style":33},"f9a89724de2f",[76,80],{"_key":77,"_type":29,"marks":78,"text":79},"87ae01ca1b4e",[68],"Mike Ketaily",{"_key":81,"_type":29,"marks":82,"text":83},"c6efe49c4ec8",[],": I spent 35 years with a large, metropolitan Fire Department here in Southern California. I retired at the rank of Captain. When I was growing up, my parents had a friend who was a firefighter and he would come over occasionally. He always told me how much he enjoyed his job and I would visit his fire station occasionally. I loved his stories and they motivated me to apply when I was 18 years old. With his help and coaching, I went through the hiring process and was hired in August of 1980.",[],{"_key":86,"_type":25,"children":87,"markDefs":96,"style":33},"812919e52470",[88,92],{"_key":89,"_type":29,"marks":90,"text":91},"ec619e5f59cf",[68],"Tim Ketaily",{"_key":93,"_type":29,"marks":94,"text":95},"92ed7b059cb0",[],": I am an active duty captain and have been working as a firefighter for over a decade. I was very fortunate to grow up in a “First Responder Family” and was exposed to a culture of safety at a very young age. I have been very fortunate to have a great mentor within the fire service and have him as a business partner now.",[],{"_key":98,"_type":25,"children":99,"markDefs":104,"style":33},"5e2d8eeca7e3",[100],{"_key":101,"_type":29,"marks":102,"text":103},"76ec2398c0e8",[68,69,70],"When did the concept for Ketaily Technical Consulting come to fruition? What was your initial vision for the company?",[],{"_key":106,"_type":25,"children":107,"markDefs":116,"style":33},"0120746e9116",[108,112],{"_key":109,"_type":29,"marks":110,"text":111},"e1cb75b41fd0",[68],"Mike",{"_key":113,"_type":29,"marks":114,"text":115},"8eaf6e17352a",[],": Tim and I started talking about forming a company like this about 4 years ago. I was doing it as a sole proprietor for many years, but the opportunity to work with Tim as a team was very intriguing and it has turned out to be a bucket list item for me. Think about it, how many dads get to work with their son, start a company, enjoy the work and really help people be safer in their places of employment? Our focus initially was on community colleges and that is now most of our clients.",[],{"_key":118,"_type":25,"children":119,"markDefs":128,"style":33},"674b0ad9b93a",[120,124],{"_key":121,"_type":29,"marks":122,"text":123},"ef7d25268e90",[68],"Tim",{"_key":125,"_type":29,"marks":126,"text":127},"11fc3928836b",[],": We were approached about a project at Pasadena City College and built the company while the work was being completed. After identifying a scope of work including training, assessments and experience we realized that there was a gap between the education system and first responders and because of our backgrounds in the fire service and education we have a unique ability to fill that gap. Our vision has changed as we have worked with more people, we want to extend our reach and make sure we can instill a culture of safety wherever we go.",[],{"_key":130,"_type":25,"children":131,"markDefs":136,"style":33},"915cb955ff1b",[132],{"_key":133,"_type":29,"marks":134,"text":135},"484ecd65bec2",[68,69,70],"Can you break down the importance of emergency training? How do you mold your methods for different settings (i.e. a residential building vs. a community college)?",[],{"_key":138,"_type":25,"children":139,"markDefs":147,"style":33},"5fa14c27b668",[140,143],{"_key":141,"_type":29,"marks":142,"text":111},"0ce73d1e9166",[68],{"_key":144,"_type":29,"marks":145,"text":146},"8ff29a9dd9a6",[],": We always knew the training was critical, but after the recent Eaton and Pasadena brush fires, it really hit home. Pasadena City College was our very first client, and they were heavily impacted by the Eaton Fire. Many of their staff and students lost their homes. The college itself was declared a food distribution center and a FEMA claims process center staffed by many of the employees that we had training. Their performance during these emergencies greatly benefitted the communities in Pasadena. We could directly observe that our training had paid off.",[],{"_key":149,"_type":25,"children":150,"markDefs":158,"style":33},"7688c570e05f",[151,154],{"_key":152,"_type":29,"marks":153,"text":123},"b23931254a46",[68],{"_key":155,"_type":29,"marks":156,"text":157},"ac6640938e93",[],": Emergency training is important but consistent emergency training is more critical. Regardless if we are training at a large scale organization or a home we strive to make training approachable, realistic and manageable. Emergencies are stressful enough, we always take a realistic approach, account for the human factor and identify areas of weakness. This attitude brings people back to the training table and makes them more knowledgeable.",[],{"_key":160,"_type":25,"children":161,"markDefs":166,"style":33},"39eb1e8ed9d7",[162],{"_key":163,"_type":29,"marks":164,"text":165},"1929e9113ab2",[68,69,70],"As a communications major, I’m extremely intrigued by your crisis communications offering. Can you walk me through that process and what you equip your clients with?",[],{"_key":168,"_type":25,"children":169,"markDefs":177,"style":33},"c7cb8f5f25f3",[170,173],{"_key":171,"_type":29,"marks":172,"text":111},"1de6556bfc75",[68],{"_key":174,"_type":29,"marks":175,"text":176},"adde5ab21021",[],": We do provide Crisis Communication Training which includes effective messaging to the public and to the employees. We also teach proper radio use, emergency notification systems, and communicating to the Incident Management Team via WhatsApp. The use of WhatsApp was a suggestion from one of our clients and it has worked out so well! Both Tim and I established a \"Family\" WhatsApp community for immediate family use. We now recommend it to all of our clients.",[],{"_key":179,"_type":25,"children":180,"markDefs":188,"style":33},"14373acee5a6",[181,184],{"_key":182,"_type":29,"marks":183,"text":123},"a60c134bac29",[68],{"_key":185,"_type":29,"marks":186,"text":187},"58e131e01e3d",[],": We try to utilize “normal” communications methods whenever we can. People are already proficient in using their phones. We give our clients avenues to get information out to their teams, out to the public and the ability to maintain situational awareness by collecting information. Communication gaps are always the number one complaint when we come into a new program. We focus a huge amount of effort in fixing this.",[],{"_key":190,"_type":25,"children":191,"markDefs":196,"style":33},"5c50be64591f",[192],{"_key":193,"_type":29,"marks":194,"text":195},"a8ec6e0884de",[68,69,70],"You facilitated a massive active-shooter training – what kind of work goes into a high-intensity concept like this?",[],{"_key":198,"_type":25,"children":199,"markDefs":207,"style":33},"3a86de903898",[200,203],{"_key":201,"_type":29,"marks":202,"text":111},"d9978a939903",[68],{"_key":204,"_type":29,"marks":205,"text":206},"9cf5b869b869",[],": I worked at Oxnard College for many years as an instructor in their Fire Academy. One of the administrators asked me to facilitate a full scale Active Shooter Exercise on campus. It took approximately 6 months of internal and external meetings with all the stakeholders; OC employees, Oxnard Fire Department, Oxnard Police/Swat, Ventura County Sheriff, AMR ambulance, and the Ventura County Fire Department. We developed a classroom training for exercise participants and selected a location on campus for the training. I enlisted the help of 20 fire academy cadets to pose as victims. I hired a \"moulage artist\" to makeup the cadets with horrific injuries and gunshot wounds. One of the campus police officers posed as the \"shooter\" with a gun with dummy rounds. We scattered the cadets all over a selected building in various spots and told them to role play their injuries. The shooter was firing off the dummy rounds. Local police and fire were staged outside and eventually were told to enter the building to neutralize the shooter and treat all the victims. The police, fire and EMT personnel loved the exercise! So did the cadets. It was featured on the local news and in the newspapers. I was super proud of the efforts of all and OC was a safer place because of it.",[],{"_key":209,"_type":25,"children":210,"markDefs":215,"style":33},"e415c524938d",[211],{"_key":212,"_type":29,"marks":213,"text":214},"8bb022e190a3",[68,69,70],"You’re partnering with End Overdose for Overdose Awareness Day. Can you talk about the importance of equipping the wider population across California with naloxone?",[],{"_key":217,"_type":25,"children":218,"markDefs":226,"style":33},"a3b14d68486a",[219,222],{"_key":220,"_type":29,"marks":221,"text":111},"92a119bcc493",[68],{"_key":223,"_type":29,"marks":224,"text":225},"63d1ab5e7b3e",[],": We are very excited about the partnership with End Overdose. Opioid overdose has become such a huge epidemic and negatively impacts so many families. Being able to provide training, situational awareness and skills to everyday people is so important. We are proud to be part of that delivery!",[],{"_key":228,"_type":25,"children":229,"markDefs":237,"style":33},"a2cb1c9ea673",[230,233],{"_key":231,"_type":29,"marks":232,"text":123},"d97df4c7b52e",[68],{"_key":234,"_type":29,"marks":235,"text":236},"9112b3317a5d",[],": The opioid epidemic is a massive problem, as a first responder I have seen first hand how opioid abuse negatively impacts families and entire communities. I have had close friends who have fallen victim to this. I believe these losses are preventable and am extremely excited for this opportunity with End overdose to save lives.",[],{"_key":239,"_type":25,"children":240,"markDefs":245,"style":33},"5f9ad323f733",[241],{"_key":242,"_type":29,"marks":243,"text":244},"ca46cc6fd89c",[68,69,70],"What do you envision for the future of Ketaily Technical Consulting?",[],{"_key":247,"_type":25,"children":248,"markDefs":256,"style":33},"ab45d5a730e6",[249,252],{"_key":250,"_type":29,"marks":251,"text":111},"3d43a26e6e61",[68],{"_key":253,"_type":29,"marks":254,"text":255},"bc11149de698",[],": The future of KTC is very bright! We currently have 10 community colleges under contract. A local city has contacted us recently to provide emergency training to their city employees. It seems obvious, but people desperately want to feel safe at their place of employment. Today's world is so unpredictable with fires, earthquakes, and active shootings. It seems like it's been one disaster after another lately. Tim and I have the experience as first responders and educators to provide a high level of quality training to make people feel safe.",[],{"_key":258,"_type":25,"children":259,"markDefs":267,"style":33},"0757704e2d6a",[260,263],{"_key":261,"_type":29,"marks":262,"text":123},"7e31c5849a94",[68],{"_key":264,"_type":29,"marks":265,"text":266},"d61951560ecb",[],": In regards to the future of KTC, I am very fortunate to work with my father. Not many people have that opportunity. We are in a unique position to assist people in emergency training and preparedness. Our goal is to continue to reach people and provide our current clients with a high level product. We have recently launched an LMS and are excited for the potential growth.",[],{"_key":269,"_type":25,"children":270,"markDefs":275,"style":33},"a8925df6dbab",[271],{"_key":272,"_type":29,"marks":273,"text":274},"6c367b646391",[68,69,70],"Is there anything else you’d like to add?",[],{"_key":277,"_type":25,"children":278,"markDefs":286,"style":33},"759b623ca619",[279,282],{"_key":280,"_type":29,"marks":281,"text":111},"b39bafe282c2",[68],{"_key":283,"_type":29,"marks":284,"text":285},"3573ac667198",[],": I can't say enough about being able to do this with my son. His knowledge is current and has led us into developing an online learning management system that we really hope is effective. We really work well together and probably talk about 5 times per day. I really enjoy teaching with him in the classroom. He is such an effective teacher and that makes me really proud. Something funny: when I first started creating the company, I was investing into it and I asked Tim to invest some into it and I asked Tim to invest. I'll never forget his response: \"I don't know Dad, $1000 is a lot to invest.” I still have his check posted on the wall and will never take it down!",[],{"_ref":288,"_type":289},"cf90ef13-140e-4ab6-a44f-29357374d13b","reference","business-health","2025-08-15",{"_type":293,"asset":294},"image",{"_ref":295,"_type":289},"image-65831cdc6de925b89375eafcee6c9df016d125ba-667x407-jpg",{"_type":297,"current":298},"slug","emergency-preparedness-an-interview-with-ketaily-technical-consulting","Emergency Preparedness: An Interview with Ketaily Technical Consulting",{"_createdAt":301,"_id":302,"_rev":303,"_system":304,"_type":20,"_updatedAt":307,"article":308,"author_ref":938,"category":290,"date":940,"image":941,"slug":944,"title":946},"2025-07-31T18:02:28Z","4df3baf1-5f7c-47ea-8893-17a03cdbd580","g1N9SK1ICZ17hbV8aPuRMT",{"base":305},{"id":302,"rev":306},"7gSDmD9Fz4hgCtCZXjplLu","2025-07-31T19:30:23Z",[309,317,325,333,341,349,361,369,377,385,393,401,409,417,421,429,441,453,464,472,480,488,496,504,512,520,528,536,544,552,560,568,576,584,592,596,604,615,623,631,639,650,654,662,670,678,686,694,702,713,721,729,737,741,749,760,768,776,784,792,800,808,816,824,832,843,851,859,867,875,883,895,903,911,919],{"_key":310,"_type":25,"children":311,"markDefs":316,"style":33},"b85369d9a9bf",[312],{"_key":313,"_type":29,"marks":314,"text":315},"ac04c0600aed",[],"When it comes to the recovery landscape in Arkansas, Kyle Brewer, BS, PR, NCPRSS has been at the center of innovation – both as a professional and as someone with lived experience of substance use disorder. Starting off his career as one of the first Peer Recovery Specialists in the state of Arkansas after graduating from the University of Central Arkansas, he brought his expertise to patients who entered the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences emergency department. By offering patients resources on the spot via a friendly face who could relate to them on a level of shared understanding, Brewer quickly found success in the hospital and scaled his work to other departments, then other hospitals throughout the state.",[],{"_key":318,"_type":25,"children":319,"markDefs":324,"style":33},"63849db72157",[320],{"_key":321,"_type":29,"marks":322,"text":323},"9568a6276130",[],"His efforts were noticed by various addiction and recovery organizations, one being NAADAC (National Association of Addiction Professionals) where he joined to streamline and formalize the peer support and recovery process. As his career evolved from UAMS to NAADAC, then the Arkansas Supreme Court soon after, he would eventually pivot to his current position: the Clinical Liaison of Landmark Recovery.",[],{"_key":326,"_type":25,"children":327,"markDefs":332,"style":33},"bf8724d3273c",[328],{"_key":329,"_type":29,"marks":330,"text":331},"7c9d9580380a",[],"As Brewer puts it, all of the aspects of his past role that he loves are wrapped up in his work at Landmark Recovery, a national drug and alcohol treatment center network with a location just outside of Little Rock in Morrilton, Arkansas. Through formalized business development and the purpose-driven work of connecting people struggling with substance use disorder to treatment, his lifelong mission to serve others is fully manifested.",[],{"_key":334,"_type":25,"children":335,"markDefs":340,"style":33},"54dabddc8f50",[336],{"_key":337,"_type":29,"marks":338,"text":339},"7595577ba56e",[],"We’re thrilled to share a candid conversation with Brewer about his backstory of grappling with addiction, the evolution of his career, and his vision for recovery in Arkansas.",[],{"_key":342,"_type":25,"children":343,"markDefs":348,"style":33},"8ea05fcccd81",[344],{"_key":345,"_type":29,"marks":346,"text":347},"6dab00839ec8",[68,69,70],"End Overdose: Can you tell us about your background in Arkansas and what inspired you to pursue your bachelor's in addiction studies?",[],{"_key":350,"_type":25,"children":351,"markDefs":360,"style":33},"f27d793d9e9b",[352,356],{"_key":353,"_type":29,"marks":354,"text":355},"3ad1cb48a8c8",[68],"Kyle Brewer:",{"_key":357,"_type":29,"marks":358,"text":359},"100d1ac9a472",[]," I abused alcohol and drugs as a teenager. As an adolescent, I got in trouble a few times [and was put on] probation. Went to treatment. But I maintained my academics. And that was always something that was going in my favor. I always showed up and went to school. But after I went to treatment when I was 17, I came back, I started hanging out with a different group of friends and I went off to college to UCA. I learned that I'm a registered Native American, I’m a quarter Oneida, so I had the ability to receive a scholarship for college. I went to UCA and my freshman year I had my wisdom teeth removed, so they prescribed me an opiate for the pain. From that point onward, I started abusing pain pills pretty bad. When figuring out my major, I started in the psychology department because I've always enjoyed talking to people. I think the brain is a fascinating thing. Every individual and the way they process and think is very unique. Like a snowflake, it's so complex. It's just a really beautiful thing.",[],{"_key":362,"_type":25,"children":363,"markDefs":368,"style":33},"8c60b9ead420",[364],{"_key":365,"_type":29,"marks":366,"text":367},"491f1fcca24d",[],"So I've always found psychology and human beings to be interesting. I was always that person at the party in deep conversation with a group talking about life. And so I've always liked just engaging and having conversations with people and getting deep. That's what got me interested in the psychology department. I was going throughout college, doing my thing. I joined a fraternity. And you get a big bro, like a mentor, someone already in the fraternity. When I was talking to him, he told me he was in the addiction studies program and I didn't even know it existed. That’s a really broad major that you've really gotta go on and get a master's and even a doctorate in if you really want to do something with it. And so I've had a lot of substance use and incarceration, things like that surrounding addiction. Most everybody besides my mom and my little sister has had their own battle with addiction. Family members in and out of the penitentiary, all my childhood and adolescent years, visiting them. So I thought, going into the addiction studies program, my initial motivation was that this is my way of helping others. I've seen how this can impact people and their families and so I wanna help other people.",[],{"_key":370,"_type":25,"children":371,"markDefs":376,"style":33},"a1ac13297a12",[372],{"_key":373,"_type":29,"marks":374,"text":375},"fdf2b392ec93",[],"And then just to be frank with you, drugs were interesting to me. Not only did I enjoy doing them, but I enjoyed learning about them. So that's really what got me focused on the addiction stage program versus general psychology.",[],{"_key":378,"_type":25,"children":379,"markDefs":384,"style":33},"00c8daae7146",[380],{"_key":381,"_type":29,"marks":382,"text":383},"31912eb500a7",[],"This whole story makes sense today. Everything I do lines up with my degree, but as it was unfolding, it didn't make any sense, honestly. In my personal life, I was abusing prescription opiates daily. That just got worse throughout college. Somewhere along the way, as with opiate addiction, it stopped being about the high and it started being about, I have to take this or I get sick, or I'm gonna go into withdrawal. Trying to do everything I can to not go into withdrawal.",[],{"_key":386,"_type":25,"children":387,"markDefs":392,"style":33},"0c34f7c5ffdc",[388],{"_key":389,"_type":29,"marks":390,"text":391},"92b1ae5772a1",[],"Around my senior year when I was spending thousands of dollars and burning through scholarship money within a couple months, my family started realizing that something was going on, and so my mom just thought that if she enabled me and got me to graduation day, that I would get a degree, I would get a job, I would grow up, and I'd put all that behind me.",[],{"_key":394,"_type":25,"children":395,"markDefs":400,"style":33},"65fafecce5f7",[396],{"_key":397,"_type":29,"marks":398,"text":399},"bea50bd1c03c",[],"So that’s what allowed her in her mind to enable me. I graduated, and there's a picture that I always show that I'm doing presentations and it's my graduation day and, I'm smiling, I have my family around me. I'm the first in my family to graduate from a four year university, so it looks like, on the surface it would be a really exciting, joyful day, and you would probably scroll through social media like the posts and say congratulations.",[],{"_key":402,"_type":25,"children":403,"markDefs":408,"style":33},"a8df80e01907",[404],{"_key":405,"_type":29,"marks":406,"text":407},"394e4b523048",[],"That's what it looked like on the surface, but, what was going on underneath that? The other story was how I'd woken up that morning and because we're partying for graduation, I'd used all my pills and I was in panic mode, anxious, and my hands were starting to sweat and my stomach was starting to be upset.",[],{"_key":410,"_type":25,"children":411,"markDefs":416,"style":33},"09bcc64ea954",[412],{"_key":413,"_type":29,"marks":414,"text":415},"28ad2e620b1c",[],"I knew I had to find something so I could feel well, and not be sick all day and participate in my graduation. I remember frantically scrolling through my phone and finally finding seven hydrocodone, 7.5 milligrams, chewed those up, by no means was that getting me high anymore. That just kept the withdrawal symptoms at bay for me to pick up my degree and participate in activities. The inspiration behind the addiction studies was initially because of all the stuff that I'd seen it put my family through, then I had my own personal interest in drugs, counseling, talking to people and trying to help others.",[],{"_key":418,"_type":293,"asset":419},"3761d2f75c57",{"_ref":420,"_type":289},"image-f7d7999c9209d7902f105cf94a0a3ff9b69f6ecf-1455x745-jpg",{"_key":422,"_type":25,"children":423,"markDefs":428,"style":33},"aba08a32c981",[424],{"_key":425,"_type":29,"marks":426,"text":427},"af0966cafdd8",[68,69,70],"EO: That's super interesting. I got sober my senior year of college, and there’s pictures of me in my early senior year where I looked as happy as can be, when in reality, I was like bottoming out in addiction. It's bizarre, the image we project versus what's happening internally.",[],{"_key":430,"_type":25,"children":431,"markDefs":440,"style":33},"223bd3c36c08",[432,436],{"_key":433,"_type":29,"marks":434,"text":435},"6f4d67654166",[68],"KB:",{"_key":437,"_type":29,"marks":438,"text":439},"0e885eb12355",[]," Yes, the surface does not tell the story a lot of the times, and especially when it comes to addiction. You could be in a multimillion dollar house, in a very successful career and have a family, and all the things, but still be in the middle of a substance use disorder. Just because your life isn't in shambles and you’re not homeless or in jail, that doesn't mean you don't have an issue with substances. I like to talk about stigma. We have this idea from just media or movies or just, growing up, just having these kinds of skewed perceptions about different issues in our society. I feel like we often don't associate success and doing well, and smiling and happiness, with someone in active addiction.",[],{"_key":442,"_type":25,"children":443,"markDefs":452,"style":33},"e0728cbf9a17",[444,448],{"_key":445,"_type":29,"marks":446,"text":447},"694db1cc5897",[68],"EO:",{"_key":449,"_type":29,"marks":450,"text":451},"199ca0ef018a",[]," Absolutely. I would love to hear about your early professional days, working as a peer recovery specialist, how that process evolved.",[],{"_key":454,"_type":25,"children":455,"markDefs":463,"style":33},"289ff0e8ff68",[456,459],{"_key":457,"_type":29,"marks":458,"text":435},"bf36be171feb",[68],{"_key":460,"_type":29,"marks":461,"text":462},"d8544f5ddb89",[]," In 2017, after I graduated college in 2013, all the things happened. I'd moved on from pills to heroin to snorting to shooting up all the things, destroying everything. I found myself in a homeless shelter in Little Rock in 2017. I went to a hospital and was faced with a decision on what I needed to do when I left there, because I didn't have anywhere to go. No options. So I went back to that homeless shelter, entered into their nine month, faith-based, recovery program. I stayed there for a year. That's where I got my foundation for recovery, for faith, for the lifestyle that I live today.",[],{"_key":465,"_type":25,"children":466,"markDefs":471,"style":33},"b803b54a18fb",[467],{"_key":468,"_type":29,"marks":469,"text":470},"0a5926f787f2",[],"After being there for a year, I started working at a church. The peer support and recovery support program, and just the peer specialist position in general, was brand new to Arkansas on the substance use side; it was just getting started.",[],{"_key":473,"_type":25,"children":474,"markDefs":479,"style":33},"395aa75cb0ea",[475],{"_key":476,"_type":29,"marks":477,"text":478},"356a203faade",[],"I had someone approach me at an event where I spoke at our church. I shared my story and they asked if I wanted to go through peer support training. I was happy with what I was doing. I just looked at it as maybe an opportunity to have more resources and tools to help more people.",[],{"_key":481,"_type":25,"children":482,"markDefs":487,"style":33},"6eb09b19f824",[483],{"_key":484,"_type":29,"marks":485,"text":486},"b98b4efde284",[],"I went through the training, not knowing that three months later, there would be a job opportunity at UAMS in the emergency department. A friend of mine sent it to me and said, man, this looks like something that's right up your alley that you would enjoy doing. So I applied. I got that job. So I was the first person in the state of Arkansas to be stationed as a peer support specialist in an emergency department hospital setting. There was no playbook, nobody had done it in the state. But I did have an attending physician, Dr. Mike Wilson, who wrote the grant and got the funding for the position. He was my direct supervisor, believed in mental health and addiction recovery, and the possibility in that and being a little innovative and thinking outside the box. And he also didn't micromanage me, so he allowed me to figure out what this looks like and how to do it best.",[],{"_key":489,"_type":25,"children":490,"markDefs":495,"style":33},"5c2c9aa9ef82",[491],{"_key":492,"_type":29,"marks":493,"text":494},"e4575fbabfe2",[],"Over that first year, we worked with a little over 500 people that I came in contact with through the emergency department. So someone would come in for an overdose or drug and alcohol withdrawal or psychiatric issues. If there was substance use involved in it, I would be watching the track board in the emergency department. I would approach the room, knock, introduce myself as a peer support specialist, say I'm a person with lived experience, and have a conversation. If they're willing to talk, just talk through what was going on, relate to their story, and if they were willing or interested in doing something, we would complete a plan and get them accepted into treatment. We would set them up with resources, create the plan, and they went directly to the treatment facility or a support group and left with my cell phone number.",[],{"_key":497,"_type":25,"children":498,"markDefs":503,"style":33},"9357305d0eb5",[499],{"_key":500,"_type":29,"marks":501,"text":502},"0b5ccf080624",[],"Three months into that, the social work and case management department found out about me. They enjoyed working with me, and it integrated throughout the entire hospital.",[],{"_key":505,"_type":25,"children":506,"markDefs":511,"style":33},"6b827ac7ea15",[507],{"_key":508,"_type":29,"marks":509,"text":510},"54561fdd65b1",[],"UAMS is a large hospital, a level one trauma center in Little Rock, and a university teaching hospital. It’s a very large organization, so I would not only work in the emergency department, but I would be like an extension of the psychiatry consult team. While on the medical floor, I spent a lot of time on the behavioral health unit, the psychiatric research institute. If there was substance use involved and someone was interested in recovery, they would call me. I would visit with people in the emergency department, but I'd also go visit with people while they were admitted in the hospital and help create plans or just encourage them. Build a relationship that was mainly trying to implement a new program in a large hospital system with different disciplines for attending physician, residents, social workers, patient care techs, nurses, and just navigating that in a way where it was collaborative, it was supportive of the patient, but they had no experience with a peer support specialist. It was the first time in the state. So being mindful that the experience I leave these professionals with is gonna have an impact on how they view this particular role.",[],{"_key":513,"_type":25,"children":514,"markDefs":519,"style":33},"637be648a401",[515],{"_key":516,"_type":29,"marks":517,"text":518},"a0499ff17bfa",[],"Wherever they go in their next job, I want them to have had a good experience and believe in this role and the power of this position being part of the team. Mostly just direct services, connecting people to treatment, providing one-on-one support, following up with them once back in the community. That was the first year – I was one of the first peer support specialists in the state, and that was my main focus providing direct services to people.",[],{"_key":521,"_type":25,"children":522,"markDefs":527,"style":33},"fffd1d0e3776",[523],{"_key":524,"_type":29,"marks":525,"text":526},"8b54fafbf03c",[],"Due to the amazing team at the hospital, it was very successful. We worked with over 500 people within the first year connected, 150 directly to treatment, and we were distributing nasal spray naloxone through this program. They would get a box of two doses of nasal spray whenever they left the hospital, so they didn't have to go to the pharmacy – we gave it to them there. I would also give them training on Narcan and how to use it. So we distributed a lot of naloxone over that first year.",[],{"_key":529,"_type":25,"children":530,"markDefs":535,"style":33},"bf9919ada3d5",[531],{"_key":532,"_type":29,"marks":533,"text":534},"ffea798e30d6",[],"But other hospitals across the state were becoming interested in this. And the state that was funding DHS, that was funding the position was interested in implementing in other hospitals. So then it went from providing direct services to consulting with other hospitals to help them implement this position system of care, whether in the emergency department or an inpatient behavioral health unit. I started helping people build and implement peer support programs. Then NAADAC came into the picture.",[],{"_key":537,"_type":25,"children":538,"markDefs":543,"style":33},"8e63f07869a6",[539],{"_key":540,"_type":29,"marks":541,"text":542},"8c62953d866e",[],"It was after about a year and a half working for UAMS, where we had worked on this three tier credentialing model for peer support specialists. There was the core level, advanced level, and peer supervisor. The idea is a peer specialist needs a peer supervisor, not necessarily a clinical supervisor who’s never worked in this role. There are distinct differences between clinical and nonclinical roles. They don't have lived experience, and don't necessarily understand it. Peers need peer supervisors. We created a career ladder for individuals to pursue three levels of credentials.",[],{"_key":545,"_type":25,"children":546,"markDefs":551,"style":33},"f307f1537f47",[547],{"_key":548,"_type":29,"marks":549,"text":550},"1de9caa776a4",[],"And so they, the state, decided to partner with NAADAC – The National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals – to build out that program and implement it across the state, put structure, organization, and legitimacy behind it. Before NAADAC, it was just a training model.",[],{"_key":553,"_type":25,"children":554,"markDefs":559,"style":33},"2300bbc77d6a",[555],{"_key":556,"_type":29,"marks":557,"text":558},"eac94ad59d34",[],"There were these trainings that were offered and there were criteria that you had to meet, but no certification or credential and no back-up, no credibility behind it at that point. When they partnered with NAADAC, they wanted NAADAC to hire an in-state person that had been through it. Because I had been through all three levels, I was one of the first 10 peer supervisors in the state of Arkansas. They wanted someone that had been through the whole model that the DHS knew that they worked with and trusted.",[],{"_key":561,"_type":25,"children":562,"markDefs":567,"style":33},"29b08ae99766",[563],{"_key":564,"_type":29,"marks":565,"text":566},"8857460060ee",[],"NAADAC hired me and I met with their executive director a couple of times, and her name's Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, who was the executive director of NAADAC at the time, and really hit it off with her. I took that job and UAMS wanted me to stay. They knew I couldn't pass on the opportunity, so I stayed on with them part-time just so they had the ability to continue giving out my phone number, and in certain cases have me come talk to people, and just to continue to have me as a resource.",[],{"_key":569,"_type":25,"children":570,"markDefs":575,"style":33},"30f07fd7cf5f",[571],{"_key":572,"_type":29,"marks":573,"text":574},"1308383fe9c7",[],"I stayed on with them part-time, but switched to NAADAC as my full-time job, and that was to take that training program that they had built in Arkansas and develop it into a really organized, streamlined, and structured legitimate certification and credentialing program that included testing, the whole application process, and membership process for NAADAC. It included building out and writing codes of ethics and creating an ethics review committee for the state. And so that, again, took me into this more of a leadership role, and building a statewide program for the peers themselves. So it went from working with individuals and providing services to people that are needing support in providing that type of support, and working with the workforce, and investing in the people providing the services. The NAADAC job took me from Arkansas. But then that naturally also put me onto the national scene and what was going on nationally.",[],{"_key":577,"_type":25,"children":578,"markDefs":583,"style":33},"09a7d2fb0367",[579],{"_key":580,"_type":29,"marks":581,"text":582},"97777018d155",[],"We were looking at this three-tiered model as something we could implement on a national level to provide a career ladder and workforce opportunities for peer specialists that get tired of working an entry level peer support job for $15, $16 an hour and they decide they're gonna go back to school because they need to get a licensure or they need to get some credentials so they can make more money.",[],{"_key":585,"_type":25,"children":586,"markDefs":591,"style":33},"5a6a244b8826",[587],{"_key":588,"_type":29,"marks":589,"text":590},"4473f8b75954",[],"I wanted to provide space for people good at this job, that care about this job, that have lived experience, that they can make a livable wage without having to go and pursue some other discipline. And so I started going around the country. I started attending conferences, started getting asked to present and speak at conferences on this model and workforce development, leadership, peer support, sharing my story. It's allowed me to go to so many different places that were always on my bucket list of places to travel around the country, like California, DC, Vegas, and New York. My recovery and my journey through working in this space is what has opened up the doors and allowed me to go to all those places multiple times to do advocacy work, presentations and training. That's the progression. Early on it was just working directly with people, trying to help them get connected to resources. Then it went to working with the workforce and trying to develop a stronger workforce and investing in people providing those services.",[],{"_key":593,"_type":293,"asset":594},"f1f2b6f29433",{"_ref":595,"_type":289},"image-0f89b76376747f7069b42e16965e11bfbacf60d3-3024x4032-jpg",{"_key":597,"_type":25,"children":598,"markDefs":603,"style":33},"e78aad4c2cdd",[599],{"_key":600,"_type":29,"marks":601,"text":602},"6a0b766b036e",[68,69,70],"EO: How does it feel going from boots on the ground, in-hospital peer recovery work, to helping implement an infrastructure? That's a huge evolution from being one of the first in the state to now overseeing a national infrastructure.",[],{"_key":605,"_type":25,"children":606,"markDefs":614,"style":33},"2d36ffa83f28",[607,610],{"_key":608,"_type":29,"marks":609,"text":435},"1b6eb048c7b9",[68],{"_key":611,"_type":29,"marks":612,"text":613},"9c49faf570ae",[]," How does it feel? Being in recovery, we help people. You give back. You serve others. There’s always that element of no matter what my job is, I'm always gonna have opportunities to help people directly.",[],{"_key":616,"_type":25,"children":617,"markDefs":622,"style":33},"db421698ea41",[618],{"_key":619,"_type":29,"marks":620,"text":621},"e62bb5c12a98",[],"And for a while, I maintained part-time employment at UAMS, still had calls that kept me involved with that part of the work. But it was a transition. I enjoyed it because I think I'm good at leadership administration and organization. I could offer different levels of this work as far as implementing programs, but there's that passion and meaning behind being boots on the ground working with individuals seeing them turn their life around and being part of that journey.",[],{"_key":624,"_type":25,"children":625,"markDefs":630,"style":33},"2a84b3eed4ae",[626],{"_key":627,"_type":29,"marks":628,"text":629},"46b8c03cc1fb",[],"I have a really good network here in Arkansas, but I've built a similar one across the country where I know people and have been built and invested in relationships at all these different places that I've been able to travel and the organizations that they work for.",[],{"_key":632,"_type":25,"children":633,"markDefs":638,"style":33},"7f98c75986b4",[634],{"_key":635,"_type":29,"marks":636,"text":637},"b446dd904d20",[68,69,70],"EO: Definitely. And I know you did work in the courts as well. Can you tell me about that experience?",[],{"_key":640,"_type":25,"children":641,"markDefs":649,"style":33},"ba2e71c5f925",[642,645],{"_key":643,"_type":29,"marks":644,"text":435},"c284f67ad70a",[68],{"_key":646,"_type":29,"marks":647,"text":648},"d0dac62a0958",[]," I took a job in the beginning of 2024 with the Supreme Court of Arkansas with the AOC – the administrative office of the court is within the Supreme Court. I worked in the legal department for specialty court programs. Drug courts, DWI courts, mental health courts, veterans treatment courts, et cetera. And so my job was doing advocacy work. From the state level, providing training and technical assistance to those courts and their staff, securing grant funding and administering those funds. It’s definitely different because the legal system is a different monster. I learned courts are even more difficult than hospitals to infiltrate, if you don't know somebody strongly on a drug court team or the judge, getting in there as a resource and being a bridge between that courtroom and the community. There's a little bit of a disconnect where there's resources, they're available, but they're just not a strong relationship between the community resources and the courts.",[],{"_key":651,"_type":293,"asset":652},"eeec03cd50f4",{"_ref":653,"_type":289},"image-8d06a0d8a05dd7b789d8f7034b72424290ec36c8-3024x2249-jpg",{"_key":655,"_type":25,"children":656,"markDefs":661,"style":33},"29ce48648200",[657],{"_key":658,"_type":29,"marks":659,"text":660},"b59f5ae2f4ec",[],"It's a highly political space. I worked for the Supreme Court and the director of the AOC is a mentor of mine. We secured a grant to install naloxone boxes in every single circuit in district court across the state. And with that we had thousands of cases of nasal spray Narcan. So we drove to literally every single district in circuit court in the state of Arkansas, dropping off and installing those boxes and dropping off the naloxone on those drives.",[],{"_key":663,"_type":25,"children":664,"markDefs":669,"style":33},"fe94d88cf01a",[665],{"_key":666,"_type":29,"marks":667,"text":668},"99a90a3e7c1b",[],"I enjoyed it. Every opportunity I've been given, I always enjoy it because I bring a unique perspective. I'm able to hold my own and have conversations with state agencies, judges, lawyers, and public defenders, someone in active addiction. I can be in those settings and have the conversation and communicate in the way that resonates with them.",[],{"_key":671,"_type":25,"children":672,"markDefs":677,"style":33},"a6489dbd7ea0",[673],{"_key":674,"_type":29,"marks":675,"text":676},"0a8407265df4",[],"When I was working for the courts, I did a lot of training. The first time I ever did it, I opened a presentation with four pictures of my mugshots. He was like, “This is the first time, maybe the only time you'll ever see an AOC employee do any kind of presentation where they're showing their mugshots.” It was a really cool opportunity to be able to improve the court systems and especially specialty court programs. I learned a lot about those programs myself.",[],{"_key":679,"_type":25,"children":680,"markDefs":685,"style":33},"6c0a58946322",[681],{"_key":682,"_type":29,"marks":683,"text":684},"5b2484b36eb9",[],"I'd never gone through one myself, but they're very successful. Their success rates are very high. They are very difficult programs, very long, and lots of responsibilities for the participants. But their charges can be dropped and their records can be sealed, so there's high incentive to do so.",[],{"_key":687,"_type":25,"children":688,"markDefs":693,"style":33},"d802b627cbe5",[689],{"_key":690,"_type":29,"marks":691,"text":692},"ee22b820aaf3",[],"I'm going around to each courtroom and each drug court and being able to see the participants and talk to the drug court teams, [seeing] all these people doing amazing work and participants putting in effort to turn their life around.",[],{"_key":695,"_type":25,"children":696,"markDefs":701,"style":33},"b633d46d7508",[697],{"_key":698,"_type":29,"marks":699,"text":700},"b325ba377f34",[68,69,70],"EO: I wanted to ask about the landscape of addiction and overdose resources in Arkansas. From what you've told me it feels intricate and comprehensive. How can people in Arkansas best provide these resources? Whether that's naloxone, whether it's treatment, how, everyone can band together behind this singular mission of addressing the overdose crisis and addiction.",[],{"_key":703,"_type":25,"children":704,"markDefs":712,"style":33},"1b171b67fb26",[705,708],{"_key":706,"_type":29,"marks":707,"text":435},"c944f0dad529",[68],{"_key":709,"_type":29,"marks":710,"text":711},"a47eeeafd13f",[]," There are a lot of great places doing great work. A lot of times it's siloed off. The recovery connections meeting I facilitate, one of the big pillars is collaboration. Acute behavioral health, detox, residential treatment, PHP, IOP, sober living, and the recovery community in general. All different parts in the continuum of care, but oftentimes aren't in close connection, relationship or communicating with one another when working with the same individual.",[],{"_key":714,"_type":25,"children":715,"markDefs":720,"style":33},"eecefb1b5b2e",[716],{"_key":717,"_type":29,"marks":718,"text":719},"04285141ce40",[],"I think there's always room for improvement and we try to increase opportunities for networking and collaboration in this field. Both professionally and personally, the baseball game is a great idea, having a professional meeting is great, but also something fun, making memories and enjoying yourself providing spaces for more collaboration, it's not about competition. Plenty of people need help.There are unfortunately so many people that are suffering from substance use disorders that, it'd be great for us all to work ourselves out of a job one day, but as it is right now, there we don't need to look at one another as organizations or companies as competition.",[],{"_key":722,"_type":25,"children":723,"markDefs":728,"style":33},"8c2ac1690589",[724],{"_key":725,"_type":29,"marks":726,"text":727},"1d293a501f1b",[],"We need to be collaborating in a patient-centered way that’s all about the client. What do they want? What's best for them and how can we work together? Individually you can be strong and have resources, but banded together, you're much stronger. You have many more resources, you can streamline the continuum of care, and make the experience so much better. So that'd be one thing I'd say is just collaboration. I think that something that y'all do really well is you're a kind like your marketing and media engaging with younger folks.",[],{"_key":730,"_type":25,"children":731,"markDefs":736,"style":33},"64986e7602c3",[732],{"_key":733,"_type":29,"marks":734,"text":735},"9e4c1d066082",[],"Naloxone, training, distribution. We can't get enough of that. We need easy access to naloxone, and it shouldn't be this thing where you have to worry about stigma going to the pharmacist or you have to worry about just even asking for it, even if it's not for yourself. If it's for a family member or a friend, just everybody should have it. It should be like Tylenol people's homes or in their vehicle. Everybody should keep it on you. Hopefully you never have to use it. But if you do, you could literally save someone's life.",[],{"_key":738,"_type":293,"asset":739},"642148a8681f",{"_ref":740,"_type":289},"image-c73deedd7619227290cf6f6585d4476586d5786d-4032x3024-jpg",{"_key":742,"_type":25,"children":743,"markDefs":748,"style":33},"720ad2495283",[744],{"_key":745,"_type":29,"marks":746,"text":747},"340f0f633fc2",[68,69,70],"EO: I would love to hear about your work with Landmark Recovery and how both your lived experience and career experience led into this role.",[],{"_key":750,"_type":25,"children":751,"markDefs":759,"style":33},"642a2cfd68c8",[752,755],{"_key":753,"_type":29,"marks":754,"text":435},"34a9ea5d6620",[68],{"_key":756,"_type":29,"marks":757,"text":758},"a4cc3e44f343",[]," Everything I described about my professional opportunities this job brings all those into one role. While I was working for the courts, my boss knew that unless some really great opportunity opened there, that it was a short term thing for me. We were all on the same page while I was there. I was reflecting on my previous jobs and asking myself, what did I really enjoy about them? What do I think that I was good at in those roles – my job title is a clinical liaison. But in the field, it's the business development person where your job is building relationships, maintaining relationships, networking, doing presentations, and then when someone needs help and needs to get into treatment, they call you.",[],{"_key":761,"_type":25,"children":762,"markDefs":767,"style":33},"e2237f9537e1",[763],{"_key":764,"_type":29,"marks":765,"text":766},"3b5f03fd22fd",[],"Over the years, I have built all of these different relationships, whether it's from working at UAMS or helping other hospitals implement programs, to training and developing the peer support workforce on all of those roles, and then across the country and all these opportunities. I’ve built relationships along the way, and I think that I’m good at maintaining relationships and investing in them and prioritizing them.",[],{"_key":769,"_type":25,"children":770,"markDefs":775,"style":33},"1f7b504f887e",[771],{"_key":772,"_type":29,"marks":773,"text":774},"6520cafbb484",[],"Because again, it goes back to that original thing about how I think people are so unique and amazing and I just think that any opportunity to have a relationship with somebody, don't take it for granted.",[],{"_key":777,"_type":25,"children":778,"markDefs":783,"style":33},"fe6d8df02d41",[779],{"_key":780,"_type":29,"marks":781,"text":782},"ff1d994952c3",[],"Everything in my life could be pointed to two things. It could be pointed to my relationship with God and a relationship with somebody he's put in my life. Every opportunity has happened through those two things, you never know who you meet and what you may be able to do for them and vice versa.",[],{"_key":785,"_type":25,"children":786,"markDefs":791,"style":33},"f244d66019e7",[787],{"_key":788,"_type":29,"marks":789,"text":790},"2a9957a8489b",[],"All those relationships and that network learning to navigate systems of care, hospitals, treatment facilities, learning how to do that, has prepared me for this. I came into this role with all these relationships already in place.",[],{"_key":793,"_type":25,"children":794,"markDefs":799,"style":33},"cf22e1af500c",[795],{"_key":796,"_type":29,"marks":797,"text":798},"699a5ee5a365",[],"I'm very familiar with how to navigate treatment. How to navigate recovery resources, how to navigate the legal system because of my previous jobs. I've done hundreds of presentations and public speaking engagements, so marketing and talking in front of people is the thing that I feel comfortable and natural with doing.",[],{"_key":801,"_type":25,"children":802,"markDefs":807,"style":33},"71810c14f20c",[803],{"_key":804,"_type":29,"marks":805,"text":806},"74f0f70723eb",[],"This job has really taken all of those pieces and that's what I really loved. I'm not a go to the office every day kind of person. I like to be in the community connecting with people. I like to support and help people. My goal at the end of the day is, how can I use all the relationships I've formed over the years to make it as easy as possible for somebody to access treatment and recovery resources? When they ask for help, past the barrier of shame, embarrassment, judgment, hopelessness, and stigma.",[],{"_key":809,"_type":25,"children":810,"markDefs":815,"style":33},"0e0460bdf75e",[811],{"_key":812,"_type":29,"marks":813,"text":814},"352f85d16aba",[],"In my opinion, it should be the easiest thing to do. But unfortunately, it's across the board that getting into treatment can be very difficult. You can get met with obstacles, resistance and challenges. I don't have transportation or we only do admissions eight to five Monday through Friday.",[],{"_key":817,"_type":25,"children":818,"markDefs":823,"style":33},"5d9ee0a4916a",[819],{"_key":820,"_type":29,"marks":821,"text":822},"5f3f348e0e67",[],"One of the things I love about Landmark Recovery is our system is designed to move towards the individual. We don't expect you to have everything together and to be operating at a hundred percent to move towards us. We move towards them. It's a very easy, simple process. If you call, we do a screening over the phone, which is about 10 or 15 minutes, and if you're ready, our transportation team is on the way to your address. Depending on how far you live, we provide transportation from all across the state and surrounding states. So depending on how far you live, that really determines how long it's gonna take for us to get there. Because when you're ready, that window of willingness, motivation and opportunity can close fast. If it's Sunday at nine o'clock at night and you want treatment, we can make it happen. We'll have you in treatment tonight at the facility. That's been my favorite job thus far. I definitely loved all the other opportunities but this one, combines all the things I loved about the other jobs into one. I still support the state DHS with the peer program, providing insight, consultation and support. We're in the middle of evaluating the peer support program and seeing what changes might need to be made. I'm on the National Steering Committee for the Center of Addiction Recovery Support and represent region six. It used to be called the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence, it’s now called the Center of Addiction Recovery Support. I still do some consulting with implementing peers and hospitals and supervision models. But as far as my day job, this role has been my favorite that I've had thus far.",[],{"_key":825,"_type":25,"children":826,"markDefs":831,"style":33},"9671433ac2b8",[827],{"_key":828,"_type":29,"marks":829,"text":830},"e696b1090811",[68,69,70],"EO: Amazing. I've heard you talk about making treatment as accessible and as easy as possible for someone who has that window of willingness. You've also talked about the need for collaboration between entities in treatment and recovery. Are there any other paths you envision for the future of peer support and treatment in Arkansas?",[],{"_key":833,"_type":25,"children":834,"markDefs":842,"style":33},"4581ae0e5eb2",[835,838],{"_key":836,"_type":29,"marks":837,"text":435},"412c3c9691ce",[68],{"_key":839,"_type":29,"marks":840,"text":841},"e93bdc62acf3",[]," Having peer support specialists in treatment centers in Arkansas is an important thing.There's a couple that have people that have gone through the training on staff, but they're in a different role because in Arkansas there's not a billing mechanism for peer support services. So they're not actually a peer support specialist when it comes to their role within the facility.",[],{"_key":844,"_type":25,"children":845,"markDefs":850,"style":33},"b54f56e78190",[846],{"_key":847,"_type":29,"marks":848,"text":849},"9011f78fe1a3",[],"But I think that having peers and people with lived experience that have this training and certification into the clinical setting is very important. I don't know what will actually happen until we find a way to start billing insurance for their services.",[],{"_key":852,"_type":25,"children":853,"markDefs":858,"style":33},"1e48c3acc87e",[854],{"_key":855,"_type":29,"marks":856,"text":857},"ff82b56b8fda",[],"At the end of the day, that's what it comes down to a lot of times, is the bottom line and being able to generate revenue. So I think that sustainability is something that I'm always focused on when it comes to the peer program in Arkansas. How do we sustain this program without grant funding?",[],{"_key":860,"_type":25,"children":861,"markDefs":866,"style":33},"e1019533c119",[862],{"_key":863,"_type":29,"marks":864,"text":865},"d0efde4c0813",[],"How do we get to a place where this position generates revenue? For the most part, it's a cost savings for the hospital when I'd make cases and present to hospitals about implementing this type of program. I'll talk about cost savings. If we can keep this individual that comes to your emergency department every two weeks from returning for six months, how much money did that save the hospital? And if that person gets into recovery and never comes back, they start seeing a primary care provider. They start getting their regular check. There's no need for them to come to the emergency department outside of a legitimate emergency.",[],{"_key":868,"_type":25,"children":869,"markDefs":874,"style":33},"4fc155c6cb21",[870],{"_key":871,"_type":29,"marks":872,"text":873},"2b0617a9342a",[],"They're not showing up every couple weeks, you're saving the hospital a lot of money. When it comes down to it, you're saving your staff's time and a lot of attention. You're also saving taxpayers money, because taxpayers are funding some of the hospital's programs and research. I think funding sustainability and the research and data components tell the story. It's great to tell the narrative, but in a lot of ways, in a lot of places it doesn't mean anything. You can't back it up with numbers, and show the real impact. Research is an important element to the work we do that maybe there’s not as much of here in Arkansas.",[],{"_key":876,"_type":25,"children":877,"markDefs":882,"style":33},"7aa2137a93f4",[878],{"_key":879,"_type":29,"marks":880,"text":881},"4e680db06a45",[68,69,70],"EO: Is there anything else you want to add?",[],{"_key":884,"_type":25,"children":885,"markDefs":894,"style":33},"620f97e4be7d",[886,890],{"_key":887,"_type":29,"marks":888,"text":889},"0d0a8fdd5148",[68],"Kyle:",{"_key":891,"_type":29,"marks":892,"text":893},"1fae454fb512",[]," If I can ever help, If I can provide any type of support or resources, do not hesitate to call. How can I make it when you call, whether it's you, with your family, or a social worker, how do I make that process easier and more efficient for you past the part of being willing to ask for help? Let me clear the path using my relationships to make it as easy as possible because. They're the only person that can walk the road. They’re the only person that can put the work in that's required, but I know that there are certain things that I can do to remove obstacles and barriers that can make it a little bit easier for them. If I can help, please reach out. ",[],{"_key":896,"_type":25,"children":897,"markDefs":902,"style":33},"0fd98c8a0c23",[898],{"_key":899,"_type":29,"marks":900,"text":901},"64bacd413c4d",[68,69,70],"REACH KYLE DIRECTLY",[],{"_key":904,"_type":25,"children":905,"markDefs":910,"style":33},"fdf9b27e5e03",[906],{"_key":907,"_type":29,"marks":908,"text":909},"cf5dccb52916",[],"(C) 501-794-9930 ",[],{"_key":912,"_type":25,"children":913,"markDefs":918,"style":33},"20862ae6b2cf",[914],{"_key":915,"_type":29,"marks":916,"text":917},"e1452dad5d3c",[],"(E) Kyle.brewer@landmarkrecovery.com",[],{"_key":920,"_type":25,"children":921,"markDefs":935,"style":33},"54993772e8c6",[922,926,931],{"_key":923,"_type":29,"marks":924,"text":925},"13fb3c5da10c",[68,69,70],"VISIT LANDMARK RECOVERY ",{"_key":927,"_type":29,"marks":928,"text":930},"25967481464f",[929,68,69,70],"3902f0749f14","HERE",{"_key":932,"_type":29,"marks":933,"text":934},"d2598fedbd6e",[68,69,70]," FOR MORE INFORMATION",[936],{"_key":929,"_type":60,"href":937},"https://landmarkrecovery.com/",{"_ref":939,"_type":289},"b980ed38-3718-4575-9e36-88835be6aeda","2025-07-31",{"_type":293,"asset":942},{"_ref":943,"_type":289},"image-336f5c1c134a73e684b63cae2cbf871cad0f4409-2133x1119-jpg",{"_type":297,"current":945},"the-power-of-lived-experience-an-interview-with-kyle-brewer-bs-pr-ncprss","The Power of Lived Experience: An Interview with Kyle Brewer BS, PR, NCPRSS",{"_createdAt":948,"_id":949,"_rev":950,"_system":951,"_type":20,"_updatedAt":954,"article":955,"author_ref":1205,"category":290,"date":1206,"image":1207,"slug":1210,"title":1212},"2025-07-14T17:24:27Z","f45afa1c-a444-4e6d-bfb0-70504e066ca2","62BBB6K1buXnUalQjwxp0X",{"base":952},{"id":949,"rev":953},"x0ldlkijNt10eyLbFYLVAQ","2025-07-14T17:40:45Z",[956,964,972,980,997,1006,1014,1022,1030,1038,1046,1054,1062,1070,1078,1086,1094,1102,1110,1114,1122,1130,1138,1146,1154,1162,1166,1174,1182,1189,1197],{"_key":957,"_type":25,"children":958,"markDefs":963,"style":33},"9f9cfd184117",[959],{"_key":960,"_type":29,"marks":961,"text":962},"4968ffc46347",[],"The Wolfe Street Foundation – Arkansas's oldest and largest nonprofit recovery resource – is a vital reprieve nestled in the heart of Little Rock. As the host to an extensive list of recovery and 12-step programs alongside recovery residences and a youth empowerment program, the organization has continued to evolve to meet the needs of the ever-shifting addiction landscape. With initiatives like one-to-one peer recovery support services, they’ve equipped themselves to address rapidly evolving challenges like synthetic opioid dependency as fentanyl and other analogues spread through local Arkansas communities.",[],{"_key":965,"_type":25,"children":966,"markDefs":971,"style":33},"d3ff0cd5c572",[967],{"_key":968,"_type":29,"marks":969,"text":970},"1ec883e4cb63",[],"The nonprofit is led by executive director Justin Buck – an Arkansas native who’s sustained a lifelong passion for nonprofit initiatives to heal local communities. After losing multiple family members to suspected overdoses and the position opened for executive director at The Wolfe Street Foundation, applying to the role made perfect sense as he saw the intangible value of an organization whose resources could save lives.",[],{"_key":973,"_type":25,"children":974,"markDefs":979,"style":33},"529fcabfc371",[975],{"_key":976,"_type":29,"marks":977,"text":978},"7ba0a15ea12b",[],"Since 2021, Buck has steered the Wolfe Street Foundation through a new decade with sharp insights that not only continue to strengthen the foundation of his nonprofit, but create keen insights on how fellow organizations and government entities can band together to address addiction with a unified purpose.",[],{"_key":981,"_type":25,"children":982,"markDefs":994,"style":33},"4854475da8d0",[983,987,991],{"_key":984,"_type":29,"marks":985,"text":986},"fb99986ed3de",[],"End Overdose spoke with Buck about his background, how the Wolfe Street Foundation continues to evolve, and his ultimate vision for recovery in Arkansas. If you’re based in Arkansas and are interested in learning more about the Wolfe Street Foundation, head over to their official website ",{"_key":988,"_type":29,"marks":989,"text":53},"0673a03e64bd",[990],"22af68c21995",{"_key":992,"_type":29,"marks":993,"text":57},"32a872bd2810",[],[995],{"_key":990,"_type":60,"href":996},"https://www.wolfestreet.org/",{"_key":998,"_type":25,"children":999,"markDefs":1004,"style":1005},"01e1137a9802",[1000],{"_key":1001,"_type":29,"marks":1002,"text":1003},"6f4891c020d7",[],"Can you tell us about your background and early days of work experience in Arkansas?",[],"h1",{"_key":1007,"_type":25,"children":1008,"markDefs":1013,"style":33},"a8d891ff04ba",[1009],{"_key":1010,"_type":29,"marks":1011,"text":1012},"ea63171b2543",[],"I’m a life-long, fourth or fifth-generation Arkansan. I grew up in Garland County - still the leader in Arkansas for overdose mortality and a hotspot for methamphetamine. My dad had a small business that taught me early how to sell just about anything to just about anybody; I sold my first pocket knife when I was maybe 9 or 10. I always thought I’d leave Arkansas, but a whirlwind senior year in high school landed me at a local college with a child by age 19. I managed food service at an amusement park and fast-food restaurants, worked in special education, traveled as a pitch salesman, and wound up marrying into a family funeral business. When I un-married out of that family business, it was time for me to really understand who I wanted to be and what legacy I wanted to build.",[],{"_key":1015,"_type":25,"children":1016,"markDefs":1021,"style":1005},"19f866c1e389",[1017],{"_key":1018,"_type":29,"marks":1019,"text":1020},"c0eff4c5e831",[],"What led you to pursue a career in the nonprofit world?",[],{"_key":1023,"_type":25,"children":1024,"markDefs":1029,"style":33},"e2a1d55ba5f9",[1025],{"_key":1026,"_type":29,"marks":1027,"text":1028},"f1cbc92e8660",[],"As I was struggling with what I wanted my life to mean, I decided that I really cared about two things: empowering young people and being of service to the community. Throughout my youth, I had always served on student councils, enjoyed leading people, and never shied away from speaking up when I thought something wasn’t quite right. In high school, I noticed that our local food pantry wasn’t serving meals on Saturdays because they didn’t have the volunteers or resources to do it. So I organized my student council and Mayor’s Youth Council to host a competitive food drive across the county and show up on Saturdays to serve lunch. And it worked! To this day, youth groups are still serving lunch shifts at that same food pantry. I realized that the right leader with the right motivations can make a big difference.",[],{"_key":1031,"_type":25,"children":1032,"markDefs":1037,"style":33},"878673e2f969",[1033],{"_key":1034,"_type":29,"marks":1035,"text":1036},"182abc19d284",[],"I decided to take two career paths at once, serving as a paraprofessional in special education classrooms and starting part-time at my local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Neither of those jobs paid well, so I wound up waiting tables in the evening. Eventually, I found myself writing grants on contract and teaching 12th grade English. And then the door really opened for me: The school where I worked had massive budget issues that required a reduction in force. At the same time, I had a job offer to lead Court Appointed Special Advocates of Garland, Grant, and Hot Spring Counties. So it was decided: I was for the nonprofit life!",[],{"_key":1039,"_type":25,"children":1040,"markDefs":1045,"style":1005},"e02f5f464bef",[1041],{"_key":1042,"_type":29,"marks":1043,"text":1044},"0c22cbcc51b5",[],"What led you to taking the role of Executive Director of Wolfe Street? How have you personally seen the effects of the addiction and overdose crisis?",[],{"_key":1047,"_type":25,"children":1048,"markDefs":1053,"style":33},"5f8b5b210583",[1049],{"_key":1050,"_type":29,"marks":1051,"text":1052},"87e38400f34c",[],"In December, 2019, I got a text from my mom:",[],{"_key":1055,"_type":25,"children":1056,"markDefs":1061,"style":33},"97be718fddfe",[1057],{"_key":1058,"_type":29,"marks":1059,"text":1060},"40ce49bd7ae2",[],"“Teri died :(“",[],{"_key":1063,"_type":25,"children":1064,"markDefs":1069,"style":33},"9070b85a736a",[1065],{"_key":1066,"_type":29,"marks":1067,"text":1068},"f0227ab51f5e",[],"I have a twin sister, a brother who is 11 years older than me, and a brother and sister (also twins) who are 13 years older than me. Teri was my oldest sister. She was a nurse and aspiring community-theater actress. She had the brightest smile and a big laugh. She gave tight hugs and had three beautiful babies. We pretty much lost touch with her when she moved to Arizona. Her addiction led to losing her nursing license - and just about everything else. She’d always pop up at holidays with her big smile, but we knew things were going from bad to worse. The last time I saw her, she said “Bubby, I’m doin’ better.” Later that year, I got the text from my mom. Like so many families, we don’t necessarily have all the answers. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Teri’s death was drug-related. Not long after, her youngest son died from a suspected overdose.",[],{"_key":1071,"_type":25,"children":1072,"markDefs":1077,"style":33},"d4de33fa9b57",[1073],{"_key":1074,"_type":29,"marks":1075,"text":1076},"3a325aef8a8c",[],"Growing up, I thought my brothers’ keg parties and substance use were awesome - friends were always excited to come over, and even the frequent fist fights seemed to elevate the cool factor. But one thing often leads to another - and my middle brother went from selling weed to slinging coke to manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine. It became a nightmare for my whole family. I’ll fast forward more than a decade through some of the most traumatic experiences of my family’s life. Eventually, he wound up looking at serious prison time and somehow got sentenced to drug court. Today, he’s restored himself to our family and his own, settling down with his wife to raise his daughter. I’m proud of his redemption arc and the healing my family has experienced watching him become a great son, brother, and father.",[],{"_key":1079,"_type":25,"children":1080,"markDefs":1085,"style":33},"bb3a78e0840a",[1081],{"_key":1082,"_type":29,"marks":1083,"text":1084},"69187e17c841",[],"Honestly, before I interviewed to lead the Wolfe Street Foundation, I had never heard of it. We started in 1982 as an AA Clubhouse. Wolfe Street is as world-famous as you can be in an anonymous program. But I wasn’t a member of AA and had never heard of Al-Anon.",[],{"_key":1087,"_type":25,"children":1088,"markDefs":1093,"style":33},"cf07f9fe86cb",[1089],{"_key":1090,"_type":29,"marks":1091,"text":1092},"f2face2c9be4",[],"I had been consulting and was ready to roll my sleeves up again. So as I did my research before interviewing for the Executive Director position, I kept thinking: “What if my family had had a community like this when we needed it?” As I got to know the organization, I fell in love with the mission.",[],{"_key":1095,"_type":25,"children":1096,"markDefs":1101,"style":33},"154d3f879f9c",[1097],{"_key":1098,"_type":29,"marks":1099,"text":1100},"75d60d500e46",[],"During the interview, I found out that my hopes had arrived. It was September of 2021, and Wolfe Street needed a sleeves-up leader to rebuild and reinvent itself. I was ready to get to work!",[],{"_key":1103,"_type":25,"children":1104,"markDefs":1109,"style":33},"f330215909d8",[1105],{"_key":1106,"_type":29,"marks":1107,"text":1108},"73092bfc8867",[],"Today, we continue to host 12 Step meetings, and we’ve opened up as a Recovery Community Organizations to embrace all pathways to recovery. From 6 am to 10 pm throughout the week, you can catch one of 63 support meetings hosted at our downtown Little Rock Recovery Community Center. We also provide Peer Recovery Support Services, nationally-certified Recovery Residences, and a Youth Empowerment Program.",[],{"_key":1111,"_type":293,"asset":1112},"ebed31e17afd",{"_ref":1113,"_type":289},"image-1fe8bd1ee1244147dd58b35ab5185c613919f73a-900x544-jpg",{"_key":1115,"_type":25,"children":1116,"markDefs":1121,"style":1005},"5671c0b4c55b",[1117],{"_key":1118,"_type":29,"marks":1119,"text":1120},"acd51913d450",[],"What would you consider to be the core mission of Wolfe Street? What about that mission inspires you on a daily basis?",[],{"_key":1123,"_type":25,"children":1124,"markDefs":1129,"style":33},"ca7c9e1ad9c7",[1125],{"_key":1126,"_type":29,"marks":1127,"text":1128},"9b7a3130293d",[],"We break barriers and build bridges so Arkansans can achieve their full potential. At our core, we help people and families thrive in recovery.",[],{"_key":1131,"_type":25,"children":1132,"markDefs":1137,"style":33},"9149f4aa559e",[1133],{"_key":1134,"_type":29,"marks":1135,"text":1136},"a3399b3b48b3",[],"It’s not enough to survive addiction, we have to find purpose and happiness as whole people. We’re also united by our lived experience. As a Recovery Community Organization, we are led by people in recovery. More than 70% of our Board of Directors and 90% of our staff have their own personal recovery stories. The rest of us are family members and allies. Our lived experience is entirely unique, and we are stronger when we recognize how those different perspectives position us to serve more people better. That’s what I want to do with my life: Empower people to achieve their full potential and lead a team strengthened by the diversity of our experience and united by a powerful shared purpose!",[],{"_key":1139,"_type":25,"children":1140,"markDefs":1145,"style":1005},"8c16ba6ee90c",[1141],{"_key":1142,"_type":29,"marks":1143,"text":1144},"2afbdf441e1c",[],"How would you evaluate the overdose and addiction landscape in Arkansas? What gaps can be filled with efforts by organizations like Wolfe Street?",[],{"_key":1147,"_type":25,"children":1148,"markDefs":1153,"style":33},"bb2fde506e7c",[1149],{"_key":1150,"_type":29,"marks":1151,"text":1152},"2cc898cbf7d0",[],"Like the rest of the nation, Arkansas has experienced a decline in overdose deaths. We’re cautiously optimistic about that trend, but our eyes are wide open for the challenges that continue. Community resources remain widely under-funded, with no sustainable revenue source (like insurance billing for recovery support services) to sustain RCOs and other community-based organizations like Wolfe Street. It’s not too much better for treatment and other organizations who are able to bill: Arkansas has some of the lowest reimbursement rates for clinical addiction care in the country. Aside from these funding challenges, I would say that most communities have their hearts in the right place - we all want people to get better - but don’t often have a coordinated recovery-oriented system of care.",[],{"_key":1155,"_type":25,"children":1156,"markDefs":1161,"style":33},"51a76b9f436b",[1157],{"_key":1158,"_type":29,"marks":1159,"text":1160},"a8571d834ecb",[],"Arkansas is not without its strengths. Recently, the state re-organized a branch of the Department of Human Services into the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health with a dedicated recovery unit. That office has been coordinating with RCOs across the state and has allocated some block grant dollars to support and expand RCOs to meet the challenge of a heavily rural state struggling with high overdose mortality rates in more rural counties. Arkansas also has a robust Peer Recovery Support Specialist workforce - people with lived experience who have been trained by the state to provide community-based, nonclinical services and resources. Hundreds of people have been trained for certification, but the jobs funded in the field are relatively few and far between.",[],{"_key":1163,"_type":293,"asset":1164},"1e61fbad7413",{"_ref":1165,"_type":289},"image-049ca31371590afc78d0d59498e0190427d1527b-3024x1901-jpg",{"_key":1167,"_type":25,"children":1168,"markDefs":1173,"style":1005},"6610682a58c2",[1169],{"_key":1170,"_type":29,"marks":1171,"text":1172},"e44b9e09a4a6",[],"What do you envision for the future of Wolfe Street and recovery + overdose prevention in Arkansas as a whole?",[],{"_key":1175,"_type":25,"children":1176,"markDefs":1181,"style":33},"0ab17046b496",[1177],{"_key":1178,"_type":29,"marks":1179,"text":1180},"645c3894157d",[],"As the landscape continues to shift and change, we have to find ways to collaborate rather than compete. It will require bold creativity and deep trust. Traditional recovery organizations - like the Wolfe Street Foundation - must embrace and celebrate great, evidence-based harm reduction organizations. We must activate the grassroots to advocate - because we can’t go back! The Wolfe Street Foundation has spent the last four years building youth and adult prevention and recovery solutions that are scalable and sustainable. Our goal is to find and fill the gaps across the state by either partnering with local community-based organizations or bringing resources to other counties - especially in rural communities. Over the next ten years, our great goal - by direct service or partnership - is to make sure that every county in Arkansas has access to effective prevention and recovery resources. And we’re committed to doing that work together!",[],{"_key":1183,"_type":25,"children":1184,"markDefs":1188,"style":1005},"f057525b1f4a",[1185],{"_key":1186,"_type":29,"marks":1187,"text":274},"95d28634fe6f",[],[],{"_key":1190,"_type":25,"children":1191,"markDefs":1196,"style":33},"b284b6be00a8",[1192],{"_key":1193,"_type":29,"marks":1194,"text":1195},"c5162e796780",[],"Arkansas needs a coordinated recovery-oriented system of care with sustainable funding models (including public investment, grants, appropriated state funds, and insurance reimbursement) that treats substance use disorders like the life-long health challenge they are. I use that word challenge intentionally - because recovery is a call to find your best self.",[],{"_key":1198,"_type":25,"children":1199,"markDefs":1204,"style":33},"eed29be1e610",[1200],{"_key":1201,"_type":29,"marks":1202,"text":1203},"ba90806c9afc",[],"For people to be able to define success for themselves and set and reach goals to achieve it, we all need to be developing systems of care that work long-term. That’s going to take time and strong working relationships. We have great people and great programs in the field, and we need policy change to align those resources for sustainable systems of care. Sometimes, “policy change” seems like a distant, removed, impersonal function - but it isn’t. In fact, it’s remarkably personal. It requires all of us paying attention, doing our part, and being willing to speak up. It requires us to build bridges and sometimes find unlikely partners. If you’re in Arkansas - anywhere in Arkansas - and you’re ready to roll up your sleeves for overdose prevention and recovery, please reach out to us at the Wolfe Street Foundation. We’ll plug you in to local and state recovery and advocacy efforts. Because it doesn’t matter if you have a trust fund or a minimum-wage job, YOU have tremendous potential. And together, WE can make tremendous change!",[],{"_ref":939,"_type":289},"2025-07-14",{"_type":293,"asset":1208},{"_ref":1209,"_type":289},"image-e32ac9e68d361df953f253bb43c7287a545f9a83-3024x1685-jpg",{"_type":297,"current":1211},"reimagining-recovery-in-arkansas-an-interview-with-the-wolfe-street-foundation","Reimagining Recovery in Arkansas: An Interview with the Wolfe Street Foundation",{"_createdAt":1214,"_id":1215,"_rev":1216,"_system":1217,"_type":20,"_updatedAt":1220,"article":1221,"author_ref":1367,"date":1368,"featured":1369,"image":1370,"slug":1373,"title":1375},"2025-07-02T20:29:14Z","ade1d7b4-4f9e-41f0-8c79-e06367d60302","gwEYttVu4IZzzez2WGHW3k",{"base":1218},{"id":1215,"rev":1219},"Cmt1MgWU3WoSouX4QJtT1M","2025-07-02T20:49:18Z",[1222,1246,1262,1266,1274,1282,1290,1298,1301,1309,1332,1340,1348,1351,1359],{"_key":1223,"_type":25,"children":1224,"markDefs":1245,"style":33},"6657e91e9cc2",[1225,1229,1233,1237,1241],{"_key":1226,"_type":29,"marks":1227,"text":1228},"7c616d8be166",[],"Pixel Grip’s shadowy industrial flavor has made waves in subversive music spaces since their inception. Four years after the release of their brilliant sophomore record, ",{"_key":1230,"_type":29,"marks":1231,"text":1232},"aded121b8c59",[70],"ARENA",{"_key":1234,"_type":29,"marks":1235,"text":1236},"c06841e0ac7e",[],", the trio is back with a razor-sharp LP that synthesizes the best of their creative instincts into songs that are dark yet deeply catchy. ",{"_key":1238,"_type":29,"marks":1239,"text":1240},"44dea842b767",[70],"Percepticide: The Death of Reality",{"_key":1242,"_type":29,"marks":1243,"text":1244},"f58f6622c6e1",[]," is a cutting exploration of grief and trauma, led by tracks like the brilliant “Split” whose brooding bass-line and shouted hook are complemented by melodic, ethereal verses that widen the band’s atmospheric scope.",[],{"_key":1247,"_type":25,"children":1248,"markDefs":1261,"style":33},"0544a2eae8b7",[1249,1253,1257],{"_key":1250,"_type":29,"marks":1251,"text":1252},"50b814cd1e2c",[],"With the thrilling ",{"_key":1254,"_type":29,"marks":1255,"text":1256},"9b87352bb307",[70],"Percepticide ",{"_key":1258,"_type":29,"marks":1259,"text":1260},"136adcc8c08b",[],"out now, we spoke with Pixel Grip’s Rita Lukea and Jon Freund about their album highlight “Split,” the self-contained mythos strung throughout their newest record, taking a more communal approach to their work, and much more.",[],{"_key":1263,"_type":1264,"url":1265},"35385b2bb43d","youtube","https://youtu.be/4MHSFbvBiR0?si=Nj-dRPXo4-TdcT8Q",{"_key":1267,"_type":25,"children":1268,"markDefs":1273,"style":33},"4ffd5211c6bf",[1269],{"_key":1270,"_type":29,"marks":1271,"text":1272},"5a6751315bc9",[68,69,70],"Can you talk about the creative process behind “Split”? How did you arrive at the triple entendre underlining the single?",[],{"_key":1275,"_type":25,"children":1276,"markDefs":1281,"style":33},"34db6843941c",[1277],{"_key":1278,"_type":29,"marks":1279,"text":1280},"91525c1d3295",[],"Rita: The bassline for split came to me during a writing session and it felt really brooding. It felt like the sonic representation of rumination. That first line “you got me tossin’ and turning I can't get you off my mind” just came to me as an improv lyric because I was bouncing off of how the bassline made me feel. When “I think I’m gonna split” came out during this improv session I realized that that was the punchline. And that I’m gonna split in more ways than one. From there I understood how to set up the joke, and deliver the verses.",[],{"_key":1283,"_type":25,"children":1284,"markDefs":1289,"style":33},"c768b9c3bcd0",[1285],{"_key":1286,"_type":29,"marks":1287,"text":1288},"f7a07a675245",[68,69,70],"How would you say “Split” fits within the context of your forthcoming album? ",[],{"_key":1291,"_type":25,"children":1292,"markDefs":1297,"style":33},"dbd775c3fbd4",[1293],{"_key":1294,"_type":29,"marks":1295,"text":1296},"7e8110883bcc",[],"Rita: “Split” is another symptom, just like “Percepticide” is. Now that the record is out, I hope fans can put the pieces together and realize that the songs represent all the different stages of grief, or betrayal trauma, which are very similar. Sadness, rage, bartering, hopelessness, denial, coping, acceptance. These emotions consumed me for years and I decided to change the narrative and take my power back by crystalizing and mythologizing my healing process.",[],{"_key":1299,"_type":1264,"url":1300},"8908acaed9bb","https://youtu.be/VN8kC2BeyyA?si=3TzYkWfTxXwEMklC",{"_key":1302,"_type":25,"children":1303,"markDefs":1308,"style":33},"f15551b7b87c",[1304],{"_key":1305,"_type":29,"marks":1306,"text":1307},"15e226d681d4",[68,69,70],"How would you define how you’ve evolved creatively since ARENA? “Split” and its two other accompanying singles are such a strong, exciting evolution from your earlier work.",[],{"_key":1310,"_type":25,"children":1311,"markDefs":1331,"style":33},"6462b81981ea",[1312,1316,1319,1323,1327],{"_key":1313,"_type":29,"marks":1314,"text":1315},"e0cc66346e1f",[],"Jon: Wow, so much has changed since the release of ",{"_key":1317,"_type":29,"marks":1318,"text":1232},"c726617f7413",[70],{"_key":1320,"_type":29,"marks":1321,"text":1322},"7e90840f9b63",[],". That album was very much a DIY affair, and now with ",{"_key":1324,"_type":29,"marks":1325,"text":1326},"d4b2fdff8c14",[70],"Percepticide",{"_key":1328,"_type":29,"marks":1329,"text":1330},"dee9a8b075e2",[],", we have looked to additional musicians and producers for help. Personally, my biggest takeaway with the new release is harnessing “it takes a village” energy. It was a challenge for me moving from such a home-grown project to something wider reaching with more outside input, but witnessing the end result, it truly feels like the project has grown larger than the sum of its parts. It feels very special.",[],{"_key":1333,"_type":25,"children":1334,"markDefs":1339,"style":33},"9e2eab45b15b",[1335],{"_key":1336,"_type":29,"marks":1337,"text":1338},"b9f8ab04ddf8",[68,69,70],"Your work has bled over from the music scene to the high fashion world – can you speak to the synergy between music and fashion and how they exchange with each other as artistic outlets?",[],{"_key":1341,"_type":25,"children":1342,"markDefs":1347,"style":33},"88720e1c6eb6",[1343],{"_key":1344,"_type":29,"marks":1345,"text":1346},"87c2c7d3538f",[],"Jon: I’m forever haunted by a quote from CeeLo Green, who said something along the lines of: “If you dress like everyone else and you’re on stage, you shouldn’t be on that stage.\" Music and fashion blend together because it’s about world building and creating a fantasy. All three of us are encouraged to dress to our own personalities, and we dress inspired by the sounds we create together. I imagine within fashion contexts like the Versace runway, there must have been a synergistic spirit between the sounds of \"Demon Chaser\" and the curated outfits.",[],{"_key":1349,"_type":1264,"url":1350},"24e449c21777","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-pfSMHO3F8&ab_channel=PixelGrip",{"_key":1352,"_type":25,"children":1353,"markDefs":1358,"style":33},"e2d00a79e8e6",[1354],{"_key":1355,"_type":29,"marks":1356,"text":1357},"2f095f90125c",[68,69,70],"Why do you think it’s important that artists support a cause like End Overdose?",[],{"_key":1360,"_type":25,"children":1361,"markDefs":1366,"style":33},"7fbcf4955b3a",[1362],{"_key":1363,"_type":29,"marks":1364,"text":1365},"7a523d5501ef",[],"Jon: It’s not a secret that music spaces coexist with substance usage. I appreciate that End Overdose acknowledges this fact, and has a mission to integrate and provide information for music lovers. As artists, when we explicitly align ourselves with the values and beliefs held by the End Overdose organization, I would hope to inspire concertgoers to create a new habit- maybe test their drugs before consuming, or even try going one night without engaging in substance usage. It can be done! Music is still fun without drugs!",[],{"_ref":939,"_type":289},"2025-07-02",true,{"_type":293,"asset":1371},{"_ref":1372,"_type":289},"image-27de4a100f7e0bb040c5a33455496b615a380b37-5715x3205-jpg",{"_type":297,"current":1374},"a-mythology-of-grief-and-healing-an-interview-with-pixel-grip","A Mythology of Grief and Healing: An Interview with Pixel Grip",1756933486907]