When Courtney Pence was two years sober, she moved from Southern Florida to Indiana, challenging herself to find a new “home” in a culture that was different than what she was accustomed to living. When Courtney struggled to fit in, her mentor suggested volunteering to give back. She started doing so at a Recovery Engagement Center in Bloomington, IN, for a CMHC, starting her journey in the social work field eight years ago. She grew within the company quickly as she has been the Manager of Residential Substance Use Disorder Programs for the past five years.  

 Initially her idea for applying to the MSW Program, was to gain clinical experience, ensuring that she can provide better treatment and guidance to her teams. However, she had bigger dreams and goals that she was looking to accomplish. With her experience working with state-funded programs, federal and local grants, judicial systems, community partners, DMHA, and FSSA, Courtney started shifting from wanting to provide micro services, to macro.  

 Daily, she sees oppression; Courtney witnessed individuals desperate for help and nowhere to go. She has the honor of sitting as the Chair of the Board for INARR (Indiana Alliance for Recovery Residences). She has been included in State Public Policy meetings to various state-level board meetings. Therefore, she has made it her mission to provide Recovery Housing options to those in need, meeting with organizations, the White House policy team, government officials, and other leaders and advocates within our state.  

 It was not until she took Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice that she became deeply passionate about the knowledge she currently has the data and information she was learning, and how to utilize this to challenge public policy. Courtney is now eager to combine her MSW degree with a Law Degree in Public Policy.  

 She knows that to get where she wants to go, she will have to make sacrifices, which she is willing to do and has started to do. Courtney is confident that we can make a change; and that she can lead the way for what she believes in. She sits here, 11+ years sober from an IV heroin addiction, homelessness, and lost hope. She is happy she was able to receive the help that she needed to be where she is today, but she feels so many do not have that opportunity.   

 Over the past 11 years, Courtney’s greatest takeaways and mottos have been:  

  1. To come from a place of love – which to me means, stop judging exteriors, every human has an internal trauma that we know nothing about. (If a person were in an accident and was bleeding externally, most would run to help. Why? Because we can physically witness external trauma. So, why not do the same for all humans? Internal trauma is the same, we just cannot see it). 
  2. Remain honest, open-minded, and willing because when we shift our perspectives, even the slightest, we are experiencing a miracle, and those shifts can open new doors. 

 This year was a big year of change for Courtney, and there were two conversations she had that made her re-evaluate her life, her potential, and what she can do. Courtney learned to let go, to stop living in fear. Let everything happen naturally. If it’s meant to be, it will be.