Lifeline with Jessie Blanchard

Lifeline with Jessie Blanchard

What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This conversation between Coach Blu Robinson and nurse Jess​ie Blanchard gives you a front-row seat to the emotional reality of overdose, harm reduction, and unconditional love. Jessie, known as Jess​ie B, works the phones for an overdose prevention hotline and runs a small grassroots group in southwest Georgia, supporting hundreds of people each week.

She talks through a gripping call with "Kimber", where she stays on the phone while Kimber injects heroin alone at home. When Kimber goes silent, Jess​ie gives her 30 agonising seconds before calmly calling emergency services. As she puts it, "Out of almost 7,000 calls, I've only called EMS 47 times.

But that's 47 people who would be dead right now if they had not had the courage and the bravery to call." The chat focuses on courage, choice, and language. Jess​ie challenges labels like "clean" and "addict", preferring "in a period of abstinence" and "person first" language. She argues the real issue is often a soul-deep wound, with drugs acting as "dollar store plasters" slapped on a haemorrhage.

Instead of obsessing over the bandages, she says, you need to look at the wound. You’ll also hear about housing, poverty and simple practical support, like the man whose whole life shifted because someone got him work boots. Jess​ie is crystal clear: people don’t need saving, they need access, consistency and genuine human connection. She even bans the word "help" in her work, saying, "They don't need my help.

They need access to the resources that are already here." If you care about recovery, harm reduction, or supporting a loved one, this conversation might make you rethink tough love, rock bottom, and what it truly means to show up for someone. Who in your life needs less fixing and more honest, consistent love?