“The recovery center has been my home away from home for 21 years. It’s been a place that I go to when the shit hits the fan, and also when I need to be of service and give what has so freely been given to me. When I first came to the center, I was as crazy as most of the folks in that room. I couldn’t sit still. I judged everybody, but I also felt home. One of my favorite memories is the marathon meetings. There was one year–I don’t know when because they all run together–but there was one year I was so afraid that I was going to drink. I sat probably eight hours in that room listening to meetings, and the love was something I needed desperately. No one kicked me out. No one said it’s time to go, and those are the things that keep us sober. Today, as a board member of the Recovery Center I feel like I’m one of those people that show up. There were always people that you’d see at these marathon meetings, and they were like a staple of recovery. I always saw a lot of folks that would show up year after year, and now I feel like I’m that person who shows up to serve and to be that hand that somebody needs to hold. It’s been about giving back, making sure that when all of these changes are happening, that I advocate for all the folks that use the Recovery Center and the Log Cabin and that it comes from my unique perspective as a woman of culture. I think that’s really important.”

— Christina Simos
2026 Board Secretary