firsthand’s Post

It’s Global Peer Support Day! We're beyond grateful for our 150+ peer support specialists who turn personal hardship into hope every day. Michelle, one of the individuals we serve in Knoxville, TN, wrote a powerful poem that captures the heart of peer support—transforming pain into strength, survival into compassion. Every peer supporter has a story that inspires and guides others. This poem reminds us: the weights we carry can lift us—and others—higher. --------- Her Struggle Became Her Achievement: The Pain and Beauty of Duality By Michelle Lombardo Because she cried countless tears, she has empathy.  It is because she survived she is able to rescue.  Her trauma gives her credibility to advise others in crisis.  While she was sitting alone in a crowd, she learned to embrace the lonely.  Her longing to be included prevents her from leaving anyone out.  Because she was broken, she makes others feel whole. The tears she cried in the shower allowed her to smile while in public.  All the days she spent sick with illness, makes her embrace each day with appreciation to be alive. Because she was battered, she knows how to fight. What was previously selfish, has been transmuted into a benevolence she uses to inspire. As a result of great sorrow, she knows emphatically, she is unbreakable.  Her scars are a warning that she can withstand any attack and heal completely. The story she calls her own has the ability to resonate with so many.  Her experience calls demons out of the dark in order to banish them.  Her courage knows no limits because she is no longer bound by fear.  No one or nothing can take away the purpose she has to give.  As she sorts through the memories of chaos, she understands completely the feeling of peace. Great loss has brought great appreciation. She has so much to give because she has been through so much.  Peace came from all her struggles and joy is the gift for never giving up when the pain hurts the most. She flutters through life like a butterfly transformed because she once inched along the ground, terrified of being trampled. Now, she flies effortlessly while being noticed for her beauty.  She became the inspiration she needed when she was struggling!

We are incredibly grateful to our team members in East Tennessee and SW Virginia who mobilized quickly to assist the individuals we serve in Helene-affected areas, checking on them and connecting them with resources. See Brittny's post below for ways to get involved.

As #RecoveryMonth wraps up, we’re celebrating the incredible recovery journeys of the firsthand’s peer supporters (firsthand Guides). Meet Mandy. Her story is proof that recovery isn’t just possible, it’s powerful. Now, Mandy channels her lived experience into empowering others on their recovery journeys, offering compassion, understanding, and hope to those facing similar battles. Read her story and see how lived experience changes lives: firsthandcares.com/mandy