Real People. Real Stories. Real Hope.
Recovery looks different for everyone, but every story has the power to remind someone that change is possible.
The Recovery Spotlights from Sheryl’s Second Chance Designs share honest stories from people in recovery: the challenges they have faced, the lives they are building today, and the hope they want to pass on to others.
These stories are shared with permission and presented with care. They are not meant to define anyone by their past. They are here to celebrate courage, growth, community, and the many forms a second chance can take.
Featured Recovery Stories
Stephanie Akin
Recovery Date: January 5, 2021
“Recovery is not only about stopping something. It is also about creating something.”
Today, Stephanie is a wife, mother of three, person in long-term recovery, and professional dedicated to helping others. Her journey includes approximately 15 years of intravenous substance use, seven nonfatal overdoses, homelessness, involvement with the criminal justice system, and Drug Court. Today, she uses both her education and lived experience to help improve systems, create opportunities, and challenge stigma.
Damian Bujanda
Same Man. Different Life.
“Recovery didn’t give me a life without problems—it gave me a life worth dealing with them for.”
Damian Bujanda is an Iraq War veteran, a father, an artist, an outreach worker, and an addict in recovery. There was a time when he slept with his head resting on a curb, walked for miles with nowhere to go, and believed the person he had once been was disappearing beneath addiction. Today, he uses those same experiences to help others as a R.E.A.L. Team Care Manager at Reflections.
Every Story Matters.
Recovery happens in communities, families, treatment programs, recovery meetings, workplaces, courtrooms, homes, and in quiet moments when someone decides to try again.
These stories exist to remind people that no one is defined only by their hardest chapter, and that hope can look different for every person.
Stories of Survival is a Sheryl’s Second Chance Designs project sharing real stories of recovery to encourage hope, challenge stigma, and remind our community that recovery is possible.
Wear hope. Spread awareness. Inspire change.