Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Sizemore.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lindsey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story begins like many families… dealing with the struggle between appearing perfect to society when in reality experiencing chaos and dysfunction inside the place I was supposed to call my home. After experiencing powerlessness as a child, my anger resulted in rebellion. I found myself seeking to belong to life despite my lack of trust in the world. School and sports soon became my escape. I wanted the challenge, the pain, and that sense of pride that could only be found through the eyes of someone watching my accomplishments. Due to my mother’s alcoholism and because we were too young to stay by ourselves, my sisters and I had to move out at an early age and my journey of bouncing around from one family to the next began. When the foundation of my home fell apart and the secrets of our family failures were out in the open, I fell into a life that sought out escape on a daily basis. I adopted an identity that did not belong to me. It was an identity that believed I was grown and that never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me. I developed a false sense of power when I found I could change the way I felt by consuming substances. Under the impression that I was living life to the fullest, I soon found that my life had fallen into the hands of a deceiving yet destructive lifestyle. My relationships, jobs, and hope began to fail me. I woke up one day in the middle of painful darkness, where addiction had taken over. When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing… no home, no car, no job, no friends, no family, nothing… I’d close my eyes only to feel an overwhelming hunger, not only because my health was failing, but it was a hunger for a life that seemed so out of reach. I fed my days with dangerous people and fast moments that would soon be looked at as survival.
My life forever changed the day that five US Marshals knocked on the door of a room I should have never been in. Reality hit me hard that day as I woke up to a full-on nightmare. After never acquiring any legal consequences before, I left the room that day with a total of 8 felonies that left me fighting for my life in a whole new way. Multiple drug trafficking charges introduced themselves as 20 years in prison. I didn’t know how I’d survive 24 hours. Two months later, my mother committed suicide… it was my 25th birthday. I felt responsible and that I would never be able to offer the world anything. My limited understanding of mental health and addiction created a fear inside me that I had never known. The depth of pain and emptiness I felt broke me in those final places. I was tired of fighting myself so my tears led me to face myself head on for the first time in my life. Giving up was not an option, however, if I was going to make it through this, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I took the little that I had and opened my heart to help. This was the game changer. I allowed myself to be rebuilt and pieced back together through hard work and mentorship. I found something in the midst of the fear, doubt, and relentless daily effort to heal… I found me.
After three years of determination and bringing positive attention to myself, I was released back into a world where I’d have to start the rebuilding process once again. Developing a support system along the way was imperative and it ultimately, allowed me to meet all of my goals through their accountability and motivation. My mentors had relatable lived experience which was constant evidence that I could in fact make it. That hope made all the difference in my life and I passionately set out to offer that same hope for others. I became a Georgia Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) and a Georgia Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist (CARES). These certifications trained me to use my lived experiences to help others who were trying to recover their lives and find hope. I began my career at a statewide nonprofit organization called the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network. At first, I worked for a program called the RESPECT Institute of Georgia and helped spread the voice of recovery all across the state of Georgia, sharing my personal recovery story as well as supporting others in telling their stories at various educational engagements. I’ve had the opportunity to speak from the stairs at State Capitol, state meetings, treatment centers, and filming a video back in the very prison I was in, etc. When I found my voice, I found my purpose. Last October, I was designated by the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration as the Forensic Peer Mentoring Training Project Director. This a program that trains individuals with lived experience inside the criminal justice system to go back into that system to help our returning citizens who are reentering back into our communities. Training mentors that help breathe life and hope into others by being the evidence that recovery is real. Forensic Peer Mentors help to return citizens navigate through the Department of Corrections and Department of Community Supervision so that they do not fall deeper into that system. They promote resiliency and model self-advocacy. It is an honor to now be a part of a movement that trains mentors that will help others in the same way someone helped me. Now, with over six years of being in recovery, I am able to make a difference in many individual’s lives as well as in the community I serve.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey has been anything but smooth. The word “Stigma” became defined clearly to me early on. There are limitations automatically placed on you by society as well as beliefs that surround someone who has spent a period of life incarcerated or on drugs. There will be many people that don’t believe in you and there are going to be times when you don’t even believe in yourself. I fell into the category of people that didn’t have much to offer anyone starting back at zero, so it was imperative that I was careful to surround myself with the right people or I could have easily begun to believe these stigmas verses using them as my motivation to go after what I wanted in life. As you become more productive and reach goals, I encourage you to start talking about it. Let these things be your topic of conversation. I advise others who have had struggles in life to find your voice, be transparent, and with every sentence, you share about your past finish it with something positive about your future. When you speak like this and you look at others in the eyes with a smile on your face, people leave that conversation with nothing but respect and inspiration. I believe no one has the same story so by investing in learning how to share yours with others you become infinitely valuable in whatever effort you take on in life. Don’t fear yourself… embrace yourself. There is only one of you
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network – what should we know?
I am very proud to work for the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network because of its unique approach to peer support helping other people who live with mental health and substance use challenges. One of the things that set us apart is that we are the largest consumer ran organization in the world. With over 100 employees across the state that brings their lived experience to the table in order to help others find recovery. I specifically work on a project called the Forensic Peer Mentoring Program that helps to transform the reentry process for our state’s returning citizens. Providing mentorship and support to take that next step towards living life again after incarceration. Had I not personally gone through the things I did I would not be able to tackle this program with as much passion as I do.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
As a child, I was raised to have faith in something bigger than myself. That shaped the hope that I needed in very desperate moments because no matter how hard a situation may get you can believe in something stronger to lift the weight of the circumstances that you weren’t meant to carry alone. Growing up wasn’t easy, but it taught me how to work hard and motivated me to create a better life for myself. Also, as a child, having teachers and coaches there for me throughout school taught me the power of mentorship which now plays a huge part in my life today.
Contact Info:
- Address: Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network
246 Sycamore Street, Ste. 260
Decatur, GA 30030 - Website: www.gmhcn.org
- Phone: 404-947-1232
- Email: lindsey@gmhcn.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lindsize
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lsizemoreatl
- Other: www.linkedin.com/in/lindsize
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
