Acquire The Fire Ep. 4: The Support...Acquire The Fire Ep. 4: The Support...
The MY House Podcast Network
Youth case manager Melissa Starkey shares how her experiences with family addiction fuel her work supporting young people at MY House alongside host Ramon Rodriguez. Together, they talk about allyship, small wins, and why addiction and recovery are never as simple as they look from the outside.
27:23•23 Jul 2026
Normies, Miracles and the Crossfire of Addiction at MY House
Episode Overview
- Addiction is described as a family disease that harms those in the "crossfire", not just the person using.
- Small wins in recovery and life – like appointments, GED progress, or self-care – are celebrated as crucial steps forward.
- Case management at MY House is portrayed as hands-on, practical support with a strong focus on education and life skills.
- Normies can be powerful allies in recovery by listening without judgement and recognising addiction is more than a simple choice.
- Setbacks are framed as part of the process rather than failures, with a "so what, now what" attitude to moving forward.
“It's not like we're not miracle workers, but we're believers in miracles, you know, so like we're… how can we help?”
Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of recovery, resilience, and support in this episode of Acquire The Fire. The focus this time is on the "normies" – the people who haven’t gone through addiction themselves but stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have. Guest case manager Melissa Starkey shares how growing up with an abusive, addicted father and losing her mum at 14 shaped her whole outlook.
Instead of letting those experiences break her, she and her brother chose to "make adjustments not excuses" and push forward. That mindset now drives the way she supports young people at MY House in Alaska. You’ll hear Starkey talk about being caught in "the crossfire of addiction" and why addiction is a family disease, affecting kids, partners, and anyone nearby.
Even though she’s a "normie", she’s deeply embedded in the recovery community, stressing that addiction isn’t a simple choice and that life is rarely black and white. Host and peer support professional Ramon Rodriguez brings the recovering addict’s perspective, contrasting it with Melissa’s, and together they show how allies and people in recovery can work as a team.
Melissa breaks down what case management really looks like: triaging needs, pushing for GEDs and driver’s licences, booking long-overdue medical and therapy appointments, and, above all, treating clients like humans rather than labels. The episode also spotlights MY House’s ethos of "a hand up not a handout" and the importance of celebrating every win, no matter how small. As Ramon puts it, showing up, listening, and walking alongside clients in recovery is "such a beautiful thing".
If you’ve ever wondered where you fit in as an ally, or how recovery work can light a fire in people who haven’t lived addiction themselves, this conversation might make you ask yourself: how can you help?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.