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146 - From Felonies to the Front Lines: One Woman's Journey Through Addiction and Recovery Work

What does it really take to go from a stolen car, a drug addiction, and a revolving-door relationship with jail — to 14 years of sobriety and a career saving other people's lives?



In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver sits down with Casey Burley, a recovery advocate and Narcan trainer who has been in recovery since September 14, 2011. Casey's story is not a tidy redemption arc. It is raw, honest, and deeply relevant to every first responder who has ever wondered whether the people they keep encountering on their worst calls are capable of change.



Casey takes us through her journey from early drug use at age 16 — starting with meth — through years of incarceration, to a treatment program where one counselor's relentless belief in her became the turning point that changed everything. She talks about what recovery housing actually looks like, why isolation is one of the most dangerous forces in addiction, and what it feels like to respond to overdoses and deaths in the same community you once nearly left permanently.



In this conversation, you'll hear:


• Why Casey says people in recovery are not a lost cause — and what first responders need to see to believe it

• The reality of fentanyl and carfentanil in every drug on the street today, and why everyone needs to know how to use Narcan

• What happens inside a recovery home after someone dies — and the quiet, careful work Casey does for the family left behind

• How self-labeling as an addict is just as destructive as being labeled by others, and how that changes in recovery

• A direct challenge to first responders: come to a recovery event and see the people who are making it



This episode is for first responders, law enforcement officers, counselors, recovery workers, families of people struggling with addiction, and anyone who has ever wondered whether it is worth fighting for someone who keeps falling down.

The answer Casey gives is yes. Every time. Because somebody fought for her — and she never forgot it.



Connect with Casey: waqrr.org (Washington Alliance for Quality Recovery Residences)

Subscribe to the First Responder Wellness Podcast and share this episode with someone on the frontlines who needs to hear it.

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