Episode 44 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd & Guest Nicole CrissEpisode 44 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd & Guest Nicole Criss
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Host Mike Todd talks with recovery advocate Nicole Criss about her abstinence-based recovery, family history, and journey into advocacy. They discuss overdose spikes in Horry County, harm reduction efforts, and how language and stigma shape recovery and policy work.
57:26•15 Oct 2021
From Crackdown to Compassion: Nicole Criss on Recovery, Harm Reduction and Language
Episode Overview
- Recovery can be abstinence-based or follow other paths; what matters is what works for the individual, not a single prescribed route.
- Fentanyl in both opiates and stimulants, especially among people without opioid tolerance, is a major driver of overdose deaths in Horry County.
- Harm reduction tools like naloxone and fentanyl test strips are saving lives, with dozens of overdose reversals reported in just a few months.
- Building a strong, honest support network and staying closely connected to trusted friends can be as vital as formal meetings for long-term recovery.
- Shifting to person-first language around substance use and mental health can reduce stigma and change how people in recovery see themselves.
“People can recover however works for them. This is just what works for me. Doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for you or anyone else.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs, then throw themselves into helping others do the same? This question sits at the heart of this conversation between host Mike Todd and guest Nicole Criss, Executive Director at FAVOR Grand Strand and long-time recovery advocate. The chat has an easy, mate-down-the-pub feel, but the topics are anything but light.
Nicole shares how substance use hit early in her life, growing up in Maryland with a family history of alcoholism and a brother whose heroin use led to prison. She talks candidly about asking for help before moving from pills to heroin and how abstinence-based recovery has worked for her since 2014.
Yet she’s adamant that, as she puts it, “people can recover however works for them… this is just what works for me.” You’ll hear about her path from newcomer in recovery to standing in Washington, D.C.
at the 2015 Unite to Face Addiction rally, where she says she finally realised, “this is why I was here… why I was put on this earth.” That moment of purpose now fuels her work training peer specialists, leading FAVOR Grand Strand, and helping build the South Carolina Recovery Coalition. The episode also tackles hard numbers and harsh realities in Horry County, where overdose deaths are soaring.
Nicole breaks down the impact of fentanyl in both opiates and stimulants, the limits of treatment options like Suboxone, and why stigma and lack of a recovery‑friendly culture make things worse. Harm reduction runs through the whole chat: naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and even the dream of a local harm reduction bus.
Language gets its own spotlight too, as Nicole explains how shifting to person‑first terms like “person who has experienced substance use disorder” can chip away at stigma and change how people see themselves. If you’re juggling advocacy, recovery, family, or just trying to stay alive in this crisis, this one might leave you asking: what part could you play in your own community’s recovery story?
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