The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd "Listening To Our Voices and Having Them Heard"The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd "Listening To Our Voices and Having Them Heard"
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Mike Todd reflects on how his voice calmed a woman during a seizure and uses this story to stress why people in recovery should share their experiences openly. He also explains the role of recovery housing and the South Carolina Recovery Housing Association in promoting naloxone access and safer support for those with substance use disorder.
11:04•1 Oct 2021
Living Out Loud: Mike Todd on Why Recovery Voices Matter
Episode Overview
- A calm, familiar voice can bring safety and reassurance, even when someone cannot see what is happening around them.
- People in recovery are encouraged to speak openly and "live out loud" so that others can gain hope from their stories.
- Keeping recovery stories confined to private meetings or church basements may limit their impact on those actively using substances.
- Recovery housing has grown from informal shared living into an industry, creating both opportunities and risks of exploitation.
- The South Carolina Recovery Housing Association promotes naloxone access and training in all recovery homes and supports operators through advocacy and mentoring.
“They cannot hear us when we are held up in basements of churches… These people need to hear us. The world needs to hear us.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? This episode of The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville zooms in on one simple but powerful theme: voices matter. Host Mike Todd shares a raw story from Mobilize Recovery in Las Vegas, where a young woman had a seizure and fell down some steps.
Drawing on decades of supporting his wife, who has a seizure disorder, Mike explains how he instinctively knew what to do and how to comfort her.
Later, in a crowded concert hall, that same woman recognised him purely by his words: “She didn’t know what I looked like, but she heard my voice… that calming voice that helped me when I was having a seizure.” From there, Mike talks about why people in recovery need to “live out loud” so their stories can reach those still struggling.
He challenges the idea of keeping recovery experiences locked away in “basements of churches”, stressing that “these people need to hear us. The world needs to hear us.” You’ll also hear him reference Patrick Kennedy’s message that people in recovery “have so much to offer and teach the world”, and Mike doubles down on the value of being transparent, open and vocal.
The episode shifts into practical advocacy too, as Mike outlines the work of the South Carolina Recovery Housing Association. He explains how recovery housing began as people simply living together and supporting each other, and how it has grown into an industry with real risks of exploitation.
To protect residents, the association pushes for naloxone in all recovery homes and trains residents in its use, backed by support from partners such as The Clinton Foundation, Recovery Advocacy Project, Challenges, Inc., and FAVOR Greenville. If you’ve ever wondered whether your story or your voice matters, this episode makes a clear case: someone out there might be waiting to hear exactly you. What could your voice mean to someone still struggling today?
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