MOULTRIE, Ga. — Eleven women who are in recovery from substance abuse and mental illness attended a local Respect Institute training that helped them learn how to use their own personal story to deliver a message of hope to others who are struggling with similar issues. The training also taught these ladies how to use their story to speak to the larger public in efforts to help break the stigma attached to addiction and mental illness.

The Respect Institute, which is offered by the State of Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, was started by Joel Slack, who struggled with his own mental illness and addiction. Slack found that when he learned how to tell his story to others, he was no longer controlled by the shame and stigma of his illnesses. He then petitioned the State of Alabama to start the Respect Institute, which focuses on offering a training to help participants learn to concisely tell their recovery story. He has since brought this training to the State of Georgia and to date Respect Institute graduates have told their story to more than 100,000 listeners.

The 11 ladies participated in a three-day Respect Institute training. They were asked to write and rehearse their story about the events in their life that led them to addiction and their life complications caused by mental illness.

“Over the last three days these ladies have cried together at times, laughed together at times and most of all grew stronger together because they now have the power of their story to reach others,” said Denise Hardy, one of the Respect Institute trainers.

 On July 13 the ladies participated in a graduation ceremony. They chose three of their number to tell their stories during the ceremony. These three ladies were: Caitlin Tinsley, Mary Forrest and Sunshine Thompson.  

Tinsley spoke of the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of both of her parents, the bullying she experienced in school and how the stress of her home life led her to become suicidal at a young age. She shared about decades of her life spent “in and out of mental institutions and using drugs and alcohol.” Today Tinsley is six years into recovery from mental health and substance abuse and stated, “I am truly on a spiritual journey to find out who I am and to build a relationship with a loving God.”

Forrest spoke of being raised in a home with an alcoholic father who sexually abused her and a mother who was emotionally neglectful.  

“All my life I just wanted someone to love me but I didn’t know it,” she said.

Forrest shared about living years of her life chronically feeling not good enough and like she wanted to die all the while dating abusive men and using drugs and alcohol. Forrest shared that today she is almost two years into recovery and has found that she could only heal once she learned to love herself.

Thompson described growing up the youngest of 24 in a chaotic household filled with domestic violence. Thompson described her father as a “raging alcoholic” and her mother was “just as scared of him as we were so she couldn’t protect us.” Thompson shared that she started using drugs at a young age and coped with her stress by living life in the fast lane. Thompson is almost two years into recovery and reported, “Today I have learned to slow down and just be with myself and that is a wonderful thing.”

After the three keynote speakers, the 11 graduates were awarded certificates and given the mission of starting the journey of using their story to start reaching others.