VASSALBORO, Maine — Experts say there is a brief window of opportunity when someone struggling with addiction reaches out for help — a phone call that could save someone's life.
A Vassalboro couple is helping connect people to a network of resources, from residential treatment beds to self-help meetings. Options for sobriety are scarce, especially for people who don't have insurance.
But thanks to a growing number of volunteers and the non-profit AccessDirect Recovery Network — a recovery call center — hundreds of Mainers are now on the path to recovery.
Ashley Johnson started drinking at the age of 13. After a devastating breakup in her 20s, opioids were the only way to ease her pain.
"Because I hung out with people who did the same thing, it just felt normal," Ashley said.
After realizing her addiction was hurting her family, she tried to get into a residential treatment program, but no beds were available.
A few years later, her cousin gave her a phone number that changed her life.
On the other side of the line was Ryan Paige, who runs AccessDirect Recovery Network with his wife Cynthia.
"He was able to get me a bed; we called at one o'clock on a Thursday afternoon, and I had a treatment bed in Portland by 6 p.m.," Ashley explained.
The couple run the non-profit from their kitchen table, 24-7 every day of the week. After Ryan got clean from a substance use disorder nearly five years ago, he wanted to be a lifeline for others struggling with addiction.
Many call when they have hit rock bottom and are ready to change, he said.
"They are worth a better life, deserve to live, and that's sometimes all somebody needs to hear," Ryan said.
They find openings in rehab facilities for people as far as Virginia and South Carolina for treatment. Ryan works with treatment facilities to give Mainers more options in a state with limited beds, especially those without insurance.
Ryan said the relationships he's made over the years with treatment facilities is key in making recovery financially accessable for some. Whether that is through scholarhips, or negotiating lower rates.
Ryan and Cynthia also work to place people in sober living homes, connect them to meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, and even access to Narcan. Volunteers also provide transportation to and from treatment.
Steve Danzig, is the Executive Director of Enso Recovery, which operates substance use and mental outpatient programs and four sober living homes for men and women in Augusta and Sanford. He said the nonprofit has helped more than a dozen people access beds in Enso's recovery residences.
"What Ryan is doing...he is bringing that personal connection to the individual," Danzig said.
The couple stresses the call center is not a replacement for 211 — a critical hotline for Mainers needing help for several issues, including substance use and mental health.
Ashley, meanwhile, is marking 14 months of sobriety. She is now the house manager for Grace House, a recovery residence for 12 women.
More than half of the women got a bed there thanks to AccessDirect Recovery; Ashley said she is more than grateful.
"It makes me emotional, because at a time of my life when I had nobody, a perfect stranger found me a way to live," she said.
Ryan and Cynthia have connected more than a thousand Mainers to recovery resources, so when some relapse and call again, they are not alone.
"I am going to help you again, and again. We will stay by your side until you get this," Ryan said with reassurance.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction you can call 2-1-1, the Maine Statewide Crisis Hotline at 1-888-568-1112, or AccessDirector Recovery Network at 482-3835.