Jessica Yeager: Recovery Rock Star

Recently I sat down with Jessica Yeager, STAR Drug Court graduate extraordinaire, to talk about how Justice Forward has helped her over the last 8 years. As our conversation continued, I realized I had never heard her incredible story of the events that led her to sobriety and the success that she experiences now.

I am so happy to share this video on our website with you. I’ll let Jessica’s account of her journey speak for itself, but I did want to briefly discuss the concept of “recovery capital” and how we are helping Jessica build up as much as possible.

“Recovery Capital” is the sum of resources and skills that a person has access to that support recovery from substance use disorder. The more you have, the longer and healthier your recovery will be. These resources are divided into four groups:

• Social Capital: This is support you receive from your family and friends, your sponsor and peer groups, and wider social connections. Jessica mentions the sober social events put on by Party Sober Partnership, a nonprofit we helped to create. By attending community wide sober events, a person in long term recovery can meet similarly situated people and have healthy fun with their families and children.

• Personal Capital has a lot to do with the skills you learn to become and remain sober: your motivation and commitment, your emotional well-being, and risk management abilities. This type of capital also includes employment, education, transportation and housing. Justice Forward assists Jessica with tuition at the University of Houston at Clear Lake as she pursues her Bachelor of Arts. A college degree will help her attain better paying jobs in the recovery world. We also helped her clean up her criminal history through our Clear Path Forward program. She talks about how great it was to apply for an apartment without having to explain her prior convictions. A cleaner history has led to safer and better housing for her and her BFF Free.

• Community Capital is the resources your community has for those in recovery. Is there advocacy aimed at reducing stigma surrounding substance use disorder? Do you have access to peer-led support and recovery community organizations?

• Cultural Capital includes celebrating your culture and embracing a higher power or spiritual practice. It also means experiencing your surroundings by visiting libraries and museums.

The fact that Jessica has 8 years of sobriety is not accidental or lucky. She has developed and accumulated all of these different types of recovery capital to support her, strengthen her, and help her live her best life.