Recovery Rooted in Connection: How FAVOR Piedmont is Building Pathways to Lasting Change
Written by Karl Vogl ll
Recovery is rarely a journey that happens alone.
Behind every step forward is often someone who understands the struggle, offers support and reminds a person that a different future is possible.
That is at the heart of the work at Faces And Voices Of Recovery Tri-County, also known as FAVOR Piedmont, a recovery community organization located on the campus of Pathways Community Center in Rock Hill.
FAVOR Piedmont provides free substance use recovery support services, both in person and virtually, to individuals and families across York, Chester, Lancaster, Fairfield, Union and Cherokee counties. The organization connects people with support rooted in lived experience, understanding and community, with a focus on making sure individuals have access to the resources they need throughout their recovery journey.
Rather than simply explaining what recovery can look like, FAVOR connects individuals with Peers, people who have walked through their own challenges and understand the importance of having someone alongside them.
In a recent interview, FAVOR Piedmont’s Executive Director Jamie Chrisman Low, who is in Recovery herself, detailed how the organization, which is led by individuals in recovery from substance use disorders, works to create meaningful connections while providing space for hope, dignity and lasting change.
One of FAVOR Piedmont's primary services is its peer led recovery groups. These groups create intentional spaces where individuals at different stages of recovery can connect with trained and certified peers who use trauma informed, evidence-based practices to provide support.
The organization also brings educational opportunities into the community and serves as one of six approved training centers in the area for individuals seeking to become certified peer support specialists.
A key measure of FAVOR Piedmont's impact is what is known as recovery capital, which refers to the resources a person has available to help sustain long term recovery.
Those resources can include housing, transportation, employment, food, clothing, social connections, professional networks and other forms of support that can make a meaningful difference in a person's ability to maintain recovery.
FAVOR intentionally works within a larger network of community organizations and service providers to help ensure individuals have access to those resources.
For Chrisman Low, one story in particular illustrates what that network can make possible.
A young woman who was well known in her community developed an opioid addiction following surgery after becoming dependent on pain medication prescribed during her recovery.
Over the course of three years, her substance use progressed to the point that she began considering heroin as an alternative to prescription opioids, or fentanyl from the street.
Before taking that step, she reached out to FAVOR Piedmont.
She was pregnant, frightened and unsure of where to turn.
FAVOR immediately connected her with resources within its network, including medication assisted treatment with Suboxone, a prescription medication approved to treat opioid use disorder. She was also connected with mental health and substance use counselors who supported her throughout her pregnancy.
The goal was not simply to address her substance use, but to walk alongside her through the challenges that came with pregnancy, recovery and reclaiming her motherhood.
Today, more than five years later, Chrisman Low said the woman continues to engage in counseling and weekly peer support through FAVOR Piedmont. Her child is now beginning kindergarten.
"She's living a life beyond her dreams," Chrisman Low said. "It's been over five years now, and it's just a beautiful story."
For FAVOR, the story also demonstrates the importance of having a network of people and organizations prepared to respond when someone asks for help.
Chrisman Low said the organization's work extends beyond the individual experiencing substance use disorder. FAVOR is also working to raise awareness that substance use disorder affects entire families, not just the person struggling with addiction. Sometimes, cooccurring disorders are present, too.
"Addiction is a family disease, and it affects every member of the family," she said.
Part of FAVOR’s work involves helping families understand that they can begin their own healing journey even while a loved one continues to struggle with substance use.
That philosophy also extends to the organization's work at Pathways Community Center, where FAVOR is part of a larger network of service providers.
Chrisman Low said the relationships between organizations on the Pathways campus help create a recovery-oriented continuum of care, allowing individuals to be connected with the next resource or service they need.
"We help support each other's work so that there is a continuum of care and no one falls through the cracks," she said. "Someone on campus is going to be able to provide the next resource or the next service for that person."
As FAVOR Piedmont works to expand its reach, funding remains one of its greatest challenges.
The organization has received support through grants and contributions from community members, but continued financial investment is necessary to maintain its free services and expand its physical presence.
FAVOR is currently exploring plans to establish physical recovery spaces in each of the counties it serves.
The expansion would create additional opportunities for peer workers, increase access to recovery services and allow FAVOR to expand its community outreach.
But financial support is not the only way community members can contribute.
Chrisman Low emphasized the importance of volunteers and people who are willing to become involved in the organization's mission.
"We welcome volunteers and people who will engage with us to do the work of our mission," she said. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate people in the community that reach out and say, 'Hey, I want to give back.' It's just a beautiful thing."
She also encouraged community members to consider how they interact with people experiencing substance use disorder.
For someone who is struggling, a simple act of dignity and respect can become the first step toward connection.
Community members can help by sharing information about FAVOR Piedmont, connecting someone with its services or even providing transportation so that person can begin building relationships with a network of people who understand recovery firsthand.
At its core, FAVOR Piedmont's work is rooted in the belief that recovery does not have to happen in isolation.
Through peer support, community partnerships, education and access to resources, the organization is working to make sure that when someone reaches out for help, there is someone there to answer.
And sometimes, that connection can be the beginning of an entirely different future.
