“MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE: FAITH, HOPE, AND HARM REDUCTION” - JEFF WALKER

For Jeff Walker, long-term recovery means he no longer needs drugs or alcohol to cope with life and his responsibilities. Formerly incarcerated, Jeff passed through various points in the sequential intercept model and uses his lived experience to help others. Jeff is the Director of Programs at Wilkes Recovery Revolution, Inc., an accredited Recovery Community Organization (RCO), where he oversees 12 unique programs referred to as the Recovery Echo System, including Phases Transitional Housing Program, R3 Recovery Community Center, Project HOW (Healing Our Workforce), Wilkes Harm Reduction Collective, Revolution Thrift Store, Fresh Start Farm, Hope Warriors, Wilkes Fresh Mobile Market, Recovery Friendly NC, CIT (Crisis Intervention Team), PORT (Post Overdose Response Team) and Cameron Ridge Treatment Center.

Jeff is a NC Certified Peer Support Specialist, Forensic Peer Support, Certified Recovery Coach Professional, and a Peer Support in the criminal justice system. He is a facilitator for the CCAR Recovery Coach Academy, Language Matters training, Recovery Coach: A Harm Reduction Pathway training, and an eCPR (Emotional CPR) educator. Jeff is one of the first trainers of the Forensic Peer Support Curriculum in the state and is currently working towards becoming a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor.

Jeff uses his lived experience to go into the prisons to offer support groups and locally works with Wilkes County Jail to offer pre-trial release services and re-entry services through Wilkes Recovery Revolution, Inc. Jeff spends much of his time serving and participating in groups locally, statewide, and nationally including Peer Justice Initiative, Peer Voice NC, Peer Expert Commission, Nation Recovery Advocacy Project, Second Chance Alliance, Reform Alliance, Wilkes Opioid Response Project, High Country Reentry, and Watauga County Justice Initiative.

Jeff is a father, dog lover, and outdoorsman in his free time. Jeff believes that the opposite of addiction is connection, connection is community, and community is recovery. Jeff believes in authenticity and the voices of lived experience. If you spend a lot of time with Jeff, you will often hear him saying “Live your best life” and he means that because he is living his best life today due to the gifts of recovery.