I have over 20 years of experience in peer support and am certified through CalMHSA, where I also serve as a subject matter expert specializing in family, parent-caregiver, unhoused populations, crisis care, and justice-involved individuals. My journey has been shaped by real, lived experience. I’ve faced recovery from alcohol and substance use, navigated life after incarceration and homelessness, and rebuilt after losing my professional license and starting over from nothing. I’ve survived the trauma of domestic violence, stalking, and toxic relationships—including the long, painful process of co-parenting with a narcissistic partner. I’ve experienced the unimaginable heartache of losing my soulmate to suicide, witnessing the death of a close friend, and grieving my oldest son, who I lost to fentanyl. I’ve also lived through the deep emotional impacts of postpartum depression, an accident with a fatality, complex PTSD, and the heavy silence that often follows trauma. At just 18, I adopted my first child—an experience that shaped the way I love and parent. I’ve since raised children as a single mom, balancing the weight of responsibility with moments of profound growth and healing. Through it all, I’ve found strength, resilience, and purpose. I’ve taught DUI classes, parenting and anger management, outpatient and intensive outpatient,drug court and juvenile classes in guided people through early recovery, and supported individuals facing some of life’s darkest moments. Now, as a Peer Support Specialist, I use everything I’ve been through to connect, uplift, and walk beside others on their healing journeys. I believe in the power of lived experience, of being truly heard, and of walking with people—not ahead of them—as they find their way forward.