Stories Ending Stigma

Real recovery stories breaking addiction stigma

Knowledge Center

Human Resources

Empowering healthy workplaces

Newsletter

Updates and news about our initiatives

Webinar

Educational sessions on opioid issues

Education

Research

Opioid crisis impact data

u

FAQs

Common questions and answers

Gary Hartfield, President and CEO of Serenity Village Inc., lost his sister Tammy to an opioid overdose. Gary leads with empathy and love, but the stigma against his sister’s experiences is painful and often comes from a lack of understanding that recovery is a lifelong process.

Hear from Gary about his connection to the opioid epidemic and his commitment to Tammy’s legacy.

Related Posts

Women Shaping the Recovery Movement

If addiction were only about the substance, everyone exposed to the same drug would have the same outcome. We know that’s not how it works. One famous series of experiments, often called “Rat Park”, offers a surprisingly human lesson: our environment and our sense of belonging can dramatically shape how we relate to substances.

Letter from the CEO

This February, I’ve been thinking a lot about how loneliness, overdose, and stigma show up in real lives here in Tampa Bay, and what it would look like for all of us to respond with more compassion, not more pressure. In my letter, I share why connection and person‑first language matter so much, how Black communities are carrying a disproportionate share of this crisis, and three simple ways we can care for ourselves more kindly while helping someone else feel less alone.