We recently connected with James Sherman and have shared our conversation below.
Hi James, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
My primary purpose in life is to continually help others. I found my purpose solely from being a person in long term recovery from Substance Use Disorder. Being in recovery has given me the joy of helping others find themselves when they are ready. Recovery to me is returning to self. Being able to navigate who we were before we picked up substances is the goal when finding recovery. Throughout the recovery process I was losing friends to overdose at a rapid rate. I then discovered I could help impact that narrative by educating other about how to respond to an overdose and by distributing naloxone. Naloxone is a medication that is designed to rapidly reverse an overdose by removing opioids from the receptors.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
After spending nearly two years homeless in the country’s largest open air drug market, I found sobriety in January 2021. During the beginning stages of my recovery journey I began giving back to the same community I once contributed to destroying. It was there I found my purpose: harm reduction outreach. I had realized that individuals providing me with materials that lowered the risk of me dying, is the reason I came out on the other end of my addiction. Engaging in conversation with unhoused people who are using drugs, allowed me to offer them my experience of recovery being possible when and if they decide they want it. I became a sponge to the knowledge of harm reduction education. I began facilitating a plethora of trainings. From overdose reversal, testing strips, anti-stigma, drug policies and statistics, and more. I volunteer as the Volunteer Coordinator for The Everywhere Project, a harm reduction non-profit in Philadelphia. The Everywhere Project used to assist me with life saving materials when I was in active use, homeless in Philadelphia. Being able to be a core team member for a 501c3 that once helped me is truly rewarding. I also work as a Substance Use Navigator, continuing to help others find their own path to recovery.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Survival, Bravery, Resiliency. The advice that I would give to anyone experiencing what I have: don’t give up because change is possible. I suggest to anyone interested in finding recovery to find support from peers in recovery. Recovery requires willingness and willingness comes from support. It wasn’t until I surrounded myself with supportive individuals that were also navigating recovery, that I found willingness. Finding non judgmental spaces with people in recovery made me feel more comfortable and confident to understand I am not in this process alone.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
The people that have been the most helpful to me throughout this journey are the individuals who guided me, taught me, loved me, forgave me, believed in me, and most importantly they expected nothing in return. I have encountered many mentors along the path of freedom from substances, mentors that loved me until I could love myself. One thing about people entering recovery is that we come into this process with minimal self esteem and self worth. Facing the wreckage of your past and mending broken relationships with family and friends is not easy. During this process we have to revisit the wrongs we have done and the selfish way in which we once lived. Self forgiveness is paramount.
Contact Info:
- Website: everywhereproject.org
- Instagram: the_everywhere_project
- Facebook: The Everywhere Project
