Episode 53 | “Build Your Own Table” | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike ToddEpisode 53 | “Build Your Own Table” | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Mike Todd shares why building your own table in the recovery space can be crucial, challenging unethical practices like patient brokering and unsafe housing. He highlights harm reduction, naloxone distribution, and grassroots advocacy as practical ways ordinary people can act locally to save lives.
14:33•22 Nov 2021
Build Your Own Table: Taking Action in Recovery Your Own Way
Episode Overview
- You don’t need permission or a committee to start helping people in your community; build your own table and act on the needs you see.
- Be cautious of 800 numbers and social media “recovery all-stars” who collect insurance details and profit from sending people to treatment without proper assessment.
- Harm reduction measures such as naloxone distribution, syringe services, and HIV testing can be life-saving, even when they face resistance.
- Recovery housing can both support and exploit people; hotlines and peer support can help move residents from unsafe to safer housing situations.
- Grassroots collaborations and small local projects, like getting naloxone into recovery homes, can grow over time and impact thousands of lives.
“Don’t be afraid to build your own platform, to build your own table… and eventually the right people will come to your table and help you.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and then start shaking up the recovery system itself? This episode centres on that question as host Mike Todd talks candidly about why sometimes you’ve got to stop begging for a seat and just “build your own table”. Speaking to people in or around addiction recovery, Mike lays out a straight-talking case for creating your own platform when you see harms being ignored.
He highlights unethical practices like the “Florida shuffle” and patient brokering, where “these 800 numbers and these Facebook recovery all-stars… get a kickback to send you to a treatment centre” before anyone has even been properly assessed. The message is clear: vulnerable people deserve better. From there, you’ll hear how grassroots action can change the landscape. Mike shares how harm reduction in South Carolina used to be taboo, yet people like Mark Burrows at Challenges, Inc.
pushed ahead with syringe access, naloxone, and HIV testing despite heavy pushback. He talks about creating an 800 number for people exploited in recovery housing and pairing callers with peer support specialists, stressing, “We’re not trying to be cops… just meeting people where they are.” There’s plenty here for anyone who’s ever thought, “What can I actually do?” Mike’s answer is: start where you are.
Whether it’s handing out naloxone, supporting recovery housing, or starting a small local initiative, he argues you don’t need permission to help save lives.
“Don’t be afraid to build your own platform, to build your own table… and eventually the right people will come to your table and help you.” If you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or just tired of seeing people fall through the cracks, this conversation might leave you asking: what could your own table look like?
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