Meet Brandy Anderson: Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandy Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandy, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Acceptance Recovery Center’s mission is to lead those displaced by addiction through care, support and education into long term recovery. Our vision is a community free from addiction. Our purpose is to break the cycle of generational trauma and addiction and we do this through modeling our core values. We started this organization as a vision to serve an underserved and overlooked population, individuals who are experiencing homelessness due to their substance use disorder to have a moderate to high risk/needs substance use disorder. Our program was created out of my own personal experience as somebody who has needed help before. As somebody who has needed a another chance. These individuals have some sort of entanglement with the criminal justice system. Society seems to be scared of individuals with substance use disorder. They look down on people that are experiencing homelessness however they deserve an opportunity. They deserve to be loved and cared for. They deserve to find recovery. What sets us aside is the type of program we offer. We target the thinking patterns and belief systems so that people can change their behaviors. Let me tell you a story about Steven. Steven came to us in 2016. He had just gotten released from jail and he did not know where to go. He showed up on our front doorstep determined to find a new way to live. Steven was successful in our program even though he had a few hiccups. It came to be that he completed our foundation program but still needed more care. At that time, we did not have a program to support him. He successfully discharged from our program and then overdosed. We thought he was going to die. A whole team of people and his family members came together while he was in ICU in critical care. We said if he wakes up then this is what we will do to support him. Thankfully he woke up. He has since then successfully completed our program again as well as our Alumni Care Program, that we created in honor of his life. He is now in a career. He is a successful tattoo artist. He is married. He is rebuilding his relationship with his daughter and he just got approved for a home loan. Steven is my why. Steven is our why. Our program contributes to the community locally here in Athens and throughout the state as we receive referrals statewide. We seek to restore family’s lives by transforming individuals into the person they were always intended to be. Most of our clients have experienced various forms of trauma. Trauma changes people. It changes them into something they would not have been otherwise. We do a lot of prosocial activities in recovery. It is important for them to know that there is fun in recovery. We find value in human lives. We contribute to the community not only by the individuals we serve but also the community we serve by bringing in local businesses, other nonprofits, local partners as well as the families of the residents we serve. Another big component is that we offer peer support services. The majority of our team has lived experience so not only are we benefiting those in our care and the community but we are also building professionals and how we model our core values.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I literally chose the only profession that my criminal background, tattoos, piercings and wild colored hair works for in my favor. What sets aside is that I am a person in long term recovery and what that means to me is that I ave over 12 years in recovery. As an 8th grade dropout, what I am really proud of is that I earned a Master’s degree in Human Services with a minor in Business. I also hold various certifications as an addictions counselor. I am a risk taker by nature almost to a fault. I believe in people and I believe in people getting another chance. I did not grow up being set up for success. I grew up with all the barriers set up against me to where I could have easily become a statistic and returned into the prison population. What I am most proud of that I have taken my lived experience and applied it to my work and I have taken my work and applied it to my life. I was adopted twice and last year I adopted my niece at the age of 2 so now I am a single, working professional mother. I got to where I am today by a series of people believing in me and investing in me… telling me that I could and would make something out of my lived experiences. It most certainly was not easy. It was a series of challenges but I got to choose whether I learned and grew through those challenges or whether I allowed them to set me back. How I have overcome that is by perseverance, tenacity and drive. If a door shuts on me, I kept on knocking on it over and over again until the right doors opened. I follow my heart and believe in serving the community and serving others and that has opened up doors. People live in my authenticity and my vulnerability. I live my recovery out loud and I tell my story as well as others story of redemption and that’s inspiring. I am grateful to be a facilitator to help other people find their voices and regain their lives. The biggest lesson that I have learned along the way is that given that my personal experience of being a child who aged out of the system and different institutions has left me feeling like when I enter into rooms I don’t feel like I belong there or that I deserve to be there. What do I have to say to public officials and community partners and to business owners… given that I’m an addiction counselor by trade, I am very comfortable speaking with clients. Moving into the role of a CEO has put me in a place to sitting in rooms with people that I don’t feel like I measure up to. So the biggest lesson that I have learned is that I have earned my seat and I am sitting there because I have something to say that these individuals need to hear. I have a role in this community. Just because I have had a hard life does not mean that I am not a contributing member of this community. I do belong. I want people to know that everybody deserves another chance. We are all human beings and who knows what circumstances have brought them to where they are today, whether it be that they are experiencing homelessness or they are suffering from substance use disorder or involved in the criminal justice system or all of the above. I am a living testament that people can and do recover. People deserve to be loved and cared for as valuable members of society.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It depends on the time of year. Our downtown scene in Athens has an amazing art and food culture. I would take them to some of the local spots like Five Bar or South Kitchen… Last Resort, The National or maybe down into Little Five Point to El Barro or some other great local restaurants. Of course in a perfect world, we would go back to live music and in that case it would be spots like The Georgia Theatre, 40 Watt and Little King. That would cover great food and entertainment. If we were venturing into Atlanta, we could go to 5 Points or Midtown. Georgia has some great scenery. There are beautiful mountain areas and hiking spots. There are several amazing state parks that are great to venture out to as well. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I cannot really identify one single person because there have been a series of individuals that have invested in me. All the way from when I started out in the 12 step recovery community and them covering me up with care and love and teaching me how to live, to my first sponsor and my second sponsor. There were my [professors when I was in college. They gave me a space to share my personal story outside of a recovery community. Then along the way there have been a series of mentor such as Terry Allen who was my first clinical director to my first job in the helping field working for Angel House to a series of coaches and mentors. Carol Biddle, who is the founder/co-founder of National Adoption Agency. The Barkers who show up in various forms including business decisions including how I show up in the business field in our community and look professional. Shaun Bennett, who has in the past year has met with me on a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly basis, and has continued to pour himself into me and motivate to get out of my comfort zone and to step into this role in that I am supposed to fill in the community to link donors with a mission that they can serve. Our volunteers and our community partners. The biggest shout out would go to our staff, that trust my guidance and my direction. That has helped build our organization. Kristina McFadden who has been with us since the very beginning of our organization. Diane Sherman, who has also been with us since the beginning as well as the rest of our team that literally pour themselves into this mission day in and day out with little to no recognition. They show up and trust me and our board because they trust our mission and they ultimately save lives.

Website: www.arc-ga.org

Instagram: @acceptfreedom, @acceptance_recovery_center, @acceptancecenter

Facebook: Accept Freedom

Image Credits
Craig Gum and Mary Lee