Stacy Smith is one of the first people new arrivals to Waterfront Recovery Services will meet. Having worked here in detox, as a counselor and helping in the front office, Stacy finds her role as Intake Coordinator rewarding. “I love helping people. I remember feeling that desperate. When people are having hard times and I’m the first person they talk to, I give them the sense that everything is going to be ok. It’s that genuine empathetic compassionate conversation that you have with them.”

Stacy has always gravitated towards helping professions, previously working as a CNA, home health provider and end of life care giver. She enjoys advocating for people who aren’t able to advocate for themselves.

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Emancipated at 14, Stacy was a mother at 16. “I had to grow up fast.”  She was with her children’s father for 13 years but when substances entered the picture, “My life went downhill and I lost everything.” Still vividly able to remember that time in her life, Stacy understands how Waterfront clients may feel when they arrive. This is key to Stacy’s dedication to her work. She shares her story of getting clean “the hard way,” just staying in her room, isolated and desperate.

When former WRS staffer, Nicki Vance, told Stacy about an opportunity to get training in an EDD program funded by the Opioid Crisis Grant, Stacy opted to train to work at Waterfront. She started in detox and continued her education to become a counselor. “It was meant for me to be here. My clean date that I celebrate is November 1, 2018,” a year to the day after Alcohol Drug Care Services opened Waterfront. Coming to work at WRS was more than an employment opportunity, it became her community, her family. “I'm thankful that John McManus and Dr. Bayan gave me an opportunity and a chance to work here. It’s given me a new life. I don’t have family here in Eureka, so besides my 12 Step family, this is my family. This is my herd."

And it was this herd that circled around Stacy when she got a call one afternoon during the pandemic telling her that her partner was on life support because of a fentanyl overdose. “I dropped to my knees.” Because of the pandemic and because she was “just the girlfriend,” she was only able to see him once before he passed. They had been together for almost two years, this felt solid, like the natural progression of her sobriety and professional growth.  “In two days it just . . . this place helped me stay clean. My story was here when I met him. Jackie Coghill] and Dr. Bayan . . . I don't know what I’d do without Dr. Bayan. She's a blessing. She cares a lot for her chickadees,” she laughs. “The clients are not her only chickadees, the staff is too. It's just nice to be able to feel like you can go talk to, like, I have Jamaica Bartz and Dr. Bayan that no matter what the issue is, I can go to them and they will sit and listen.” The shock of her partner passing made it hard to go back to counseling. Perhaps the hardest was  . . .  self doubt, wondering how she had missed it. She eased back into work and eventually landed in the admissions office, all the time supported by her WRS family of coworkers.

Stacy occasionally pulls shifts in other departments, sometimes SUD counseling or medications because she’s been trained and certified and has experience so she is able to help out where needed. “I’ve worked in every department except case management and the kitchen. I love this place. It’s cool. You know, like, if we're short staffed, I'm able to help in different departments. I used to think the work started in detox but it’s really in the admissions office. It starts with that initial phone call and that screening." Recently, after COVID restrictions were lifted, WRS staff discussed walk-in screenings for locals again. Stacy enthusiastically offered to come in early to do them. She arrives at 8 in the morning does walk-in interviews from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. “It’s first come, first served. We can only bring people with alcohol use disorder on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays but with Partnership, we work with seven different counties so the walk-in process helps us bring in more people within our community." She does between one and seven screenings a day. It all starts with a phone call where she asks what substance the caller wants to detox from. If there are mental health issues or the person is intoxicated, Stacey navigates that in the process.

Scheduling can be tight and some screenings take longer than others so when people don’t show up, it can throw things off. She likes having that first interaction with people doing in-person screenings. “You get to see them in person, you get that connection with them right off the bat because sometimes on the phone, it’s hard to get that connection with somebody because you can’t see them, there’s no eye contact . . . A lot of our phone screenings are the people that can’t make it in and the people from out of town, from other counties.”

Stacy also helps out at the Women’s transitional houses, dropping in a few days a week to talk and encourage the women working to put their lives back together. This could mean helping them navigate employment or education goals or just sitting and talking about everyday issues. “I have to remember that this isn’t my personal recovery here. I do that outside of here. I just have to learn not to take stuff home. You can't work here without doing some sort of self care. Self care is a big thing for me. You know, this job isn’t easy,” she laughs. When asked about the kind of self care she does, Stacy confides, “Nails done, toes done, roller coasters, conventions to reach out to my family outside of here.” She lives with a roommate and helps care give for their aging mom. Part of that is the realization that living alone wasn’t healthy for her. But wait . . . was that roller coasters on the list of things Stacy does for self care? Yes, she sometimes takes mental health days to ride roller coasters … “I just got back from Six Flags,” she giggles. “That’s where I go for therapy, to scream and get it all out and I come back fresh, ready to start over.” Stacy continues to work on her sobriety, attending 12 Step meetings regularly. As part of her self care she’s also working to rebuild her relationships with her kids and talks about the the need for patience in this process. “I’m doing the work,” she says softly. "You know, you don't get into recovery to like, make a billion dollars, you get into recovery to help people. I've always loved helping people. I love this place. I’m here for awhile,” she laughs.