LAUREL SPRINGS, N.J., June 29, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When it comes to helping others begin recovering from addiction, New Jersey native Vanessa Vitolo can walk the walk and talk the talk – because she’s been there.
That’s why Victory Bay Recovery Center, www.victorybayrecovery.com, hired her as outreach coordinator and goodwill ambassador at its Laurel Springs facility in Camden County, New Jersey.
After she was diagnosed with an illness in her mid-20s, she was prescribed painkillers. But that prescription ran out, and then she began using heroin – which is cheaper and more accessible than pills.
“I was a full-blown heroin and crack addict,” Vitolo, 31, says in a ReachNJ video that is part of New Jersey’s campaign to counter opioid abuse and addiction. “I was very, very close to my family growing up, but I isolated myself. I didn’t talk to anybody… It happens so fast; it’s like a snowball effect.”
Her addiction led to numerous arrests for the native of Absecon, which is located outside of Atlantic City. Vitolo, who now lives in Essex County, spent numerous holidays in jail. Eventually she was sentenced to NJ Drug Court where the court mandated her to a long-term rehab facility and a halfway house. During her treatment she became energized about recovery and began her advocacy work. On May 24 of this year, Vitolo successfully graduated from NJ Drug Court.
Now, she works to help others through her job at Victory Bay Recovery Center.
“We admire Vanessa and welcome her to our team,” says AJ Solomon, Co-founder of Victory Bay Recovery Center. “She knows the pain and struggle of being an addict, and her experiences will help others suffering from addiction.”
The treatment center offers residents of the Garden State and surrounding areas the chance to be treated and begin recovery locally. Every client receives a custom treatment plan suited to their specific needs.
Victory Bay Recovery Center, which only accepts private insurance, provides treatment to those suffering from addiction, and offers high-quality Partial Hospitalization, Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient substance-abuse and co-occurring services to a broad spectrum of clients.
“Victory Bay provides a unique combination of treatment including trauma informed care blended with the incredibly useful 12-Step and traditional addiction modalities,” says Vitolo, who told her story to President Trump in the Oval Office in March.
Her message for addicts: “You are not alone. My prayers are always with you. There is hope – I am living proof of that. The staff that has been assembled [at Victory Bay] is like a family, and the compassion they exude in unparalleled. I'm proud to be an employee at a place that saves lives.”
Victory Bay Recovery Center can be reached at 800-253-0673, and is located at 1395 Chews Landing Rd., Laurel Springs N.J., 08021. www.victorybayrecovery.com