E143 Aired 03-16-2026 - Kate Riley

E143 Aired 03-16-2026 - Kate Riley

What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation on **Courage to Hope** follows Kate Riley, who proudly calls herself “a grateful mum”, as she shares how her son Tom went from repeated overdoses to building recovery programmes that now help others. Host Tony Lagreca talks with Kate about the chaos that began with Percocet use at school, escalated to heroin, and led to overdoses, homelessness, and frightening late‑night calls.

One turning point came when Tom rang from “the beach in South Boston” saying, “I need help. I’m overdosing.” Another came when detox staff sent him to a homeless shelter instead of back home, where he was confronted with what his future could look like if nothing changed. A chance connection through Tom’s brother led him to a house in Wakefield known as Number 16, a 12‑step based men’s programme.

Tom turned 21 in treatment there and later used that model to co‑found The Brook Retreat in Plympton, a small recovery house that initially faced fierce town opposition. As Kate recalls, residents at a town meeting insisted “no one recovers” while her son and his peers stood right in front of them as living proof to the contrary.

From that house grew Brook Recovery in Abington and later related services such as Brook Behavioural Health and Brook Addiction Treatment, offering group programmes and clinical support rather than residential care. Kate also talks about stigma, over‑prescribing of opioids by doctors and dentists, the comfort she found in Learn to Cope, and her ongoing volunteer work serving hot meals to unhoused people outside South Station.

This episode suits anyone affected by addiction—parents, partners, people in recovery, and those curious about 12‑step style programmes. You’ll hear honesty, practical hope, and a reminder that, as Kate puts it, “life can be fabulous” on the other side of addiction. Could this be the story that makes you feel a bit less alone?