Welcome, Alicia Jonah
Please join us in welcoming Alicia Jonah to the Healthy Acadia team!
Alicia joins us as a recovery coach Maine Recovery Core internship program. Recovery Core Interns offer direct peer support with the aim of improving recovery success among individuals facing substance use disorders. Alicia provides recovery coaching and recovery supports in Washington County.
Alicia, what prompted you to join the Healthy Acadia team?
I’m currently an undergraduate student at the University of Maine Machias. My advisor, Dr. Lori Schneiders, recommended the Recovery Core program as an internship opportunity to explore. After talking with a friend who works here as well as researching the organization, I decided I'd like to join.
What most inspires you about Healthy Acadia's work?
Healthy Acadia offers so many wonderful programs in a wide range of areas. The opportunity to help people on a more personal level as well as learn the resources that are available is a great opportunity. The laid-back, family-oriented work atmosphere with an organization that values its employees is also attractive and difficult to find these days. My biggest inspiration is seeing the impact of the work done in the community.
What most inspires you on a personal level?
I'm interested to learn as much as I can. My ultimate goal is to become an LCSW and be an adult mental health therapist. Substance use and mental health often go hand in hand, and I think this position is a great opportunity to learn and gain experience in the recovery field that will help me become a better provider down the road.
To be quite brutally honest, I do not have experience with substance use, only mental health. Being exposed to and learning from the real-life experiences of those affected is the best education there is. In learning and changing my own perceptions, I have already had great conversations and changed others’ perceptions as well. I love making changes for the better. Who knows, I could fall in love with this field and change directions altogether!
What is your favorite thing to do, or place to be, in Maine, and why?
I am not a fan of picking favorites. I love the ocean, but I love water overall. I love to be outdoors camping, hiking, and chasing waterfalls. I dabble in photography, but overall, my kayak, my boat, and my fishing pole are my saving graces. The water is my serenity.
Alicia resides in Machias with her 17-year-old son and her cat, Mittens.
“[Mittens]…loves to bring me live presents and drop them at my feet....in the house. I believe that while she enjoys "hunting", I think she feels I am ungrateful when I return said presents to the outdoors.
I also have a cleaning/detailing business right in town and my elderly clients are my favorites. On the rare occasion I am not working or doing homework, I can be found in my gardens or on the water.”