Individuals touched by substance use disorder often have a turning point that guides their recovery.
For Julie Erb, the moment of clarity came on Nov. 4, 2016, when she and her unborn child faced a near-death experience.
Living on the streets, Erb had been assaulted, leading to a high-risk pregnancy. When she unexpectedly went into labor and was in distress, Erb was airlifted to a local hospital’s Emergency Department. During the helicopter ride, she remembers thinking, “If I don’t change my life, I am going to die.”
Erb knew the dangers of substances. As a former user, she had gotten treatment and lived a life of sobriety. But in 2012, the former chef and restaurant manager relapsed on methamphetamine, sending her life and the lives of her husband and two children into a tailspin.
After nearly dying and exposing her newborn child to an addictive substance, Erb was ordered by the Arizona Department of Child Safety to Terros Health and the Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T. (Families in Recovery Succeeding Together) program, which offers community-based substance use services to parents of children named as victims of abuse or neglect. Working with case managers and clinicians, she recommitted herself to recovery and rebuilt a life with her family while earning a bachelor’s degree in addiction counseling from Ottawa University.
Today, Erb has a new lease on life. She is nearly nine years sober and remains active in a 12-step fellowship program. She serves on the board of a nonprofit organization and sponsors women in recovery while sharing her lived experience in the community and as a former lead recovery coach for Terros Health and Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T.
Erb’s stellar work earned her a promotion as a clinician at Terros Health’s Olive Health Center, where she conducts patient assessments, facilitates individual and outpatient group counseling sessions, and handles case management.
If that’s not enough, this busy mom in recovery is pursuing a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. She said the focus of her studies was an easy decision, knowing that an individual in crisis isn’t the only one affected by mental health challenges and substance use disorder. “We treat the person,” she said of the healthcare system, “but I want to treat the whole family system.” Doing so, Erb said, will give everyone involved a chance for a lifelong recovery.