Civic Dispatch: Finding a Why in Recovery — Lessons from Mr. Larry Leeth and Fellowship House

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Jean O’Connor-Snyder Intern Chloe Kaplan spent the summer in Walker County, Alabama, conducting a needs assessment for Fellowship House. Through her work, Chloe discovered the unwavering dedication of the staff, especially peer support specialist Larry Leeth, who inspires clients on their recovery journeys with his own story of transformation and hope.

Tucked away on the corner of Highway 195 and Oak Hill Road, next to a cemetery that staff often ruefully joke is representative of their clients’ worst fears, sits an inconspicuous building with a small red door. Beyond a dozen or so mismatched chairs, a fading children’s mural depicts hot air balloons against a cheery blue sky. Here, the carpet is worn but the people are warm. Here, people begin their healing journey every day. 

Fellowship House’s outpatient medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic helps hundreds of substance-use disorder clients meet their recovery goals through individualized treatment plans. These plans address not just the client’s physical health, but also their mental, emotional, spiritual and financial wellbeing. Fellowship House offers support groups, individual and group counseling sessions and medication management. Peer support specialists (veterans of recovery who now help others in their journeys to stay clean) lead group sessions with their own personal flair, covering a wide variety of topics. “We do relapse prevention, we do trauma-focused, medication management, life skills, financial budgeting plans, motivation, anger, recovery basics” counselor Andrea Lashley explains to me, “and clients get to pick which groups they’d like to participate in because it’s individualized,” 

I am spending the summer in Walker County through the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program in partnership with the Walker Area Community Foundation, the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, and New College at the University of Alabama. As I conduct a needs assessment for Fellowship House and She Recovers, one of the programs within Fellowship House that serves pregnant women with substance use disorders, what I notice most is the devotion of each staff member to their clients. 

One peer support specialist, Larry Leeth, illustrates just how much clients are cared for here. When I first met Leeth, he was wearing his typical New York Yankees blue hat and Auburn gear, an easygoing smile on his face. His ability to strike up a conversation practically anywhere and his never-ending supply of motivational words immediately welcomed me. When I began reading his autobiography, Misfit, I never could have anticipated the suffering Leeth had been through because his strong faith and utter selflessness shone so brightly. 

He grew up in inner-city Chicago, where his childhood was plagued by violence and exposure to substances. But when he speaks of his past, his focus is not on his trials, but on the people he encountered. Leeth’s experiences in Alabama prison and the mandated 12-step program there changed his life. 

“In that room, there was a lot of people in pain and suffering, and in some way, I fit in perfectly. That’s where my transformation started, because otherwise, I was going to die in prison,” Leeth said, shaking his head at the disheartening memory.

After being released from prison in 2009, Leeth invested heavily in his local AA program and took on additional responsibilities wherever he could, whether helping to manage finances or lead groups. After another peer support specialist heard of the good work he was doing in the community, they encouraged him to become a support specialist himself. After completing his certification, Leeth started working with HealthConnect caring for clients across the state, then moved to Alethia House’s team and finally ended up with Fellowship House’s outpatient care team. He has diligently served the people of Walker County for nearly two years in his current role. 

Day to day, Leeth leads numerous support groups and provides encouragement and advice to clients on how to navigate their unique trauma to find permanent healing. He also volunteers with the Pardons and Paroles program through the Walker County Jail to share his recovery story with those still serving their sentences. Through our conversations, Leeth has made it clear that recovery is an ongoing process that requires strong daily habits. He encourages his clients to find their “why”- the reason they desire a better life and that motivates them when times get hard. In turn, he pours his whole heart into serving his clients.

“I don’t believe any lost people exist. I don’t believe that if you got one out of ten, you won. No, I didn’t. All ten of those people deserve to have successful lives,” Leeth said, his voice emphatic and full of emotion. “I’m not happy with one person. To me, I’ve failed. So, I take what I do wholeheartedly. There’s no wasted lives.”

However, many barriers remain to accessing continuous recovery care in Walker County, even while new initiatives have emerged over the years. For example, while there are several faith-based residential treatment centers in Walker County including City of Lights and Hope for Women, the closest state-certified residential program is in Birmingham. Outpatient therapy and MAT treatment centers also often have cost or transportation barriers.

When asked what Fellowship House does to support clients in navigating barriers to recovery, counselor Brailey Busby shares: “Our goal is to help people work through those barriers that stop people from getting into treatment... If we can help you get insurance, if we can help you get a job that keeps you stable and gets you transportation, that will help you in recovery and recovery will help you be able to maintain a job and pay for a car. It helps you beyond just coming to treatment.”

Through it all, dedicated staff members like s Leeth continue to show up each and every day for their clients, and they do it without asking for anything in return. 

“I’m comfortable working behind the scenes impacting who I impact. As they’re getting the help they need, they’re helping me and showing me that it is possible to live a better life,” says Leeth.

Chloe Kaplen is a junior at the University of Alabama from St. Louis, Missouri. She is a microbiology major on the pre-med track.

Chloe’s internship is with the She Recovers program through Fellowship House. She is focused on developing a needs assessment to identify barriers when accessing support for substance use disorder.

Chloe is a Randall Research Scholar and McCollough Pre-Medical Scholar, both programs through the Honors College. Chloe’s research focuses on improving perinatal and maternal health outcomes in Alabama.

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Summer 2024 JOIP Interns. This internship program is made possible through our collaboration with the University of Alabama’s New College and the Walker Area Community Foundation.