COMMUNITY GEM: Former addict helps those seeking recovery in area

“It’s heavy work for sure, but also very fulfilling,” she said.

Adkins is the community outreach specialist for Emerge Recovery and Trade Initiative, a nonprofit organization in Xenia, near Fairborn, that helps people seeking recovery gain work and life skills through a variety of services. In her position, she also forms and cultivates relationships throughout the community with others who can offer her clients assistance.

Adkins, 41, has been in the behavioral health field for seven years. Her own history gives her a unique perspective into the lives of her clients.

“I went into survival mode at a very young age based on my own experiences and traumas,” she said.

She began using as an 11-year-old, starting with marijuana and alcohol as a way to self-medicate her trauma. She endured various forms of abuse and spiraled into harder drugs. Along the way she had four daughters and racked up multiple arrests until getting sober in 2016 at the age of 33.

Now she uses those experiences to connect with others. She understands their challenges, doesn’t judge and knows that she is “one bad decision away” from switching spots with those she helps.

“I need to be for them what I needed when I was out there,” said Adkins, of Vandalia.

Her background propels her forward, said Kenton Durham, the human resources manager at Emerge who nominated Adkins as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem.

“She’s not letting adversity consume her, but she’s leveraging it to fuel that passion to care for others,” he said.

Durham has known Adkins for less than a year but has already noted her persistence, resilience and heart for helping others. Whether or not the people she connects with end up being served at Emerge, Adkins is focused on finding the best fit to meet their needs.

She builds bridges not only to Emerge, but also to help others reach a better future.

Her dedication to serving others benefits the whole community, Durham said, and he hopes her work inspires others to do the same. By being more like Adkins, communities can change for the better even more quickly.

“I think we can all learn from Mandy’s example,” he said.

Among Emerge’s services are a 42-bed men’s residential program, men’s recovery housing, an anger management program, therapy, case management and vocational education. There is also an on-site restaurant, church, basketball court, pond, garden and more.

Adkins, who was born and raised throughout the Dayton area, wanted to make a difference in her community. She calls this work her calling, and she wants her clients to know that their lives matter and that they are valued members of the community.

“We are all important,” she said. “We are all somebody’s somebody.”