Second career is therapy for her, and for those she helps
Barbara Shafer has been working as the director of education for the Hanley Foundation in West Palm Beach since March. Her job is as facilitator of Project C4OPE, (Connect for Overdose Prevention and Education), a forum series for families in the opioid crisis; as well as to develop new educational symposiums and summits for professionals, paraprofessionals and the community that address substance-use disorder issues and help people connect to additional resources. This is a newly created position, for which Shafer is uniquely qualified, she says, because of her personal experience with how addiction is a family disease — losing her daughter, Alison, to heroin addiction — and her degree in communication arts giving her the skills to help others. Before joining the organization, Shafer was publisher for Florida Weekly, in Palm Beach Gardens. This job, says Shafer, is her therapy.
About: Hanley Foundation, a statewide leader in substance-use disorder prevention, education and advocacy for access to quality treatment.
How I got from “there to now”: I was working at The Sun News as an account executive in Myrtle Beach, S.C. We had moved from Florida to the Carolinas hoping to help Alison get sober. She did, but the damage opioids caused to her heart was too great and she passed from medical complications. A year later, I participated in the Horry-Georgetown Technical College Addiction Lecture Series in Myrtle Beach, and after I spoke, two people approached me to say how much my talk touched them. I decided at that point that this is what I needed to do. This was the good that could come out of my daughter’s passing.
On the job
Why I’m a good fit: The stigma attached to this disease is what keeps some from seeking support, and I believe the community is more at ease knowing I speak from experience and do not judge their personal stories. I also have a BA in communications, which helps me design and facilitate new educational initiatives.
Personal professional goal: To obtain Certified Recovery Peer Specialist/Family certification through the state of Florida and grow from there.
Strategies
Industry wisdom: Conversations initiate change.
Advice to young professionals: Keep your mind and heart open to new opportunities and challenges, because you never stop growing as a person.