Hope Recovery Center helps Veterans find sense of self

Hope Recovery Center focuses on helping Veterans develop skills to feel better, be successful and have meaningful relationships. Since 2020, 83% of its participants successfully completed the program.

The Hope Recovery Center is an outpatient treatment program designed to assist Veterans grappling with severe mental illness or PTSD. By providing a therapeutic learning setting, Veterans can acquire hope, support and develop new skills.

“What we do is Veteran-centric and goal driven, so we allow the Veteran to dictate for themselves the life they want to live,” said Dr. Crystall Matthews-Wells, psychology program manager. “We help articulate those goals and break them down into objectives. And that is our starting point.”

Trenia Pevia, Army Reserve Veteran (pictured above), has actively participated in the program for a year. The program’s transparency keeps her engaged. “The coaches and other program participants share their shortcomings with us, which allowed me to open up about my struggles to them. I saw a light in my coach that I wanted for myself.”

That coach was Bianca Johnson

“We want the Veterans to understand that there is life beyond the mental illness or experiences that they suffer from,” said Bianca Johnson, social worker and coach. 

Hope Recovery Center services include social activities, hobby classes and life skills that focus on independent living and financial wellness. There are also peer led groups, individual psychotherapy vocational services and family education. 

“I asked God for a place where I felt like I belonged, and I feel like I belong here. I am broken and I see people that have been where I am at that are no longer in that spot. So, I understand that there is more for me than just survival. I want to thrive and here I’ve found the help I’ve needed to help me do that,” Pevia said.

Learn more about the Hope Recovery Center.