When Mackenzie Kelley was in recovery from Substance Use Disorder, and ready to enter the working world, job hunting felt like an uphill battle. Everything changed when she discovered a growing new field, where first-hand experience with recovery was preferred, and in some cases, required. She discovered a new world of opportunity as a recovery coach, working one-on-one with individuals to help them access community-based resources, and providing a helpful, supportive, empathetic hand when they needed it. She’d always known that she’d wanted to work in the field that involved supporting others, and this field offered an ideal fit. 

“I’ve been through it. I know what it’s like to feel alone and not want to be,” she says. “I was so grateful to be able to use something that seemed so negative – for a positive – and to be able to really help somebody else.” 

“It doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like what I was meant to do, and I’m getting paid for it.”

After completing the training program, she discovered work that she loves. “To be able to see somebody and offer encouragement, strength, and hope, and say ‘I know exactly what it feels like, and you can have a good life, and you deserve it,’ then support them in that, is so rewarding,” she says. 

Photo provided by Maine Careers with Purpose

Mackenzie is one of thousands of people who have discovered a whole new field of opportunities in Direct Support. There is a critical need statewide for individuals like Mackenzie to work as recovery coaches, peer support specialists, and in other positions supporting individuals in recovery in a variety of settings. 

The growth of the field, and the abundance of full, part-time, and per diem opportunities, means that those who are interested can find positions that allow them to manage work with other life and school responsibilities, as well as their own recovery work. 

That flexibility is a huge benefit to Danielle Ward, a recovery coach and a peer support specialist. 

She loves that she can do work that doesn’t lock her in to a 9-5 schedule and that she can juggle with her work as a yoga instructor, or her coursework to complete her bachelor’s degree, while also giving her the time she needs to be there for her kids. But mostly she loves the fact that she’s found work that feels like such a good fit. 

“I was always that person who had a lot of empathy and compassion,” she says. “I like to be there to listen and express that I’ve been in their shoes.” 

For Mackenzie, the work provides a level of satisfaction that surpasses anything she’s ever experienced. 

“This is unlike any other job I’ve had. Helping people doesn’t feel like a job,” Mackenzie says. “It feels like I’m doing what I was meant to do and getting paid for it.” 

To learn more about full-time, part-time and per-diem opportunities in your community, go to Mainecareerswithpurpose.org. Follow @MaineCareerswithPurpose on Facebook and Instagram.