ROANOKE, Va. – Cynthia Haley is not an EMT, but she responds to overdose calls alongside Roanoke Fire-EMS.
As a registered peer recovery specialist with the Bradley Free Clinic, Haley uses her own experience with addiction to support people in crisis and guide them toward treatment.
“I struggled with addiction for over 10 years,” Haley said. “Addiction robbed me of everything good in life—from my family to my job, my dignity, and eventually my freedom. So I understand firsthand what it’s like to have to come back from nothing.”
Just two years ago, Roanoke ranked second in the nation for nonfatal opioid overdoses.
Haley was once part of those statistics in Virginia.
“I suffered from an overdose and I remember feeling very scared, confused and alone,” she said. “If I would have had somebody there like myself to maybe say, ‘Hey, you’re not in trouble and you’re not alone, together we’ll get through this,’ I think that could have made a huge impact on my recovery journey.”
Fire-EMS Captain Jason Focht says first responders are skilled at keeping people alive—reversing overdoses with naloxone and getting patients to the hospital. But they needed help with the next step.
“We’re terrible with those soft skills and making those connections,” Focht said. “That’s where Bradley and peer recovery specialists come in. They have lived experiences that we don’t have. They can connect with these individuals in ways we can’t.”
Focht recalls a turning point in 2021, when he responded to a double overdose in Southeast Roanoke. One person survived, the other didn’t.
“We had a family of children and parents downstairs that we had to break that news to,” Focht said, his voice cracking with emotion. “That was one of the catalysts that has driven a lot of this program for me.”
The Responders for Recovery program officially launched in Roanoke in 2023, made possible by a $1.4 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. The program allows peer recovery specialists to work alongside first responders across the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany region.
New this year, it expanded to operate six days a week.
During a recent ride-along, Haley responded to a familiar face—a person she had met before. She encouraged them with patience and understanding.
“Sometimes it takes a while to get it right,” she said. “You know that.”
According to the most recent data from June, Roanoke is no longer ranked in the top 10 nationwide for nonfatal overdoses—a sign of progress, Focht says.
“Now we’re bringing this thing full circle,” he said. “We’re doing a really good job of keeping them alive, but we’re also adding in this piece that can hopefully connect them to resources that can change their lives.”
Haley will celebrate five years of sobriety in August. For her, every call is a reminder of how far she’s come—and a chance to help someone else find their way back.
Because sometimes, recovery takes more than reviving a heart, it takes reaching one.
So far, the Responders for Recovery program has made about 200 connections and led to 70 referrals for treatment.