Kimberly Treadaway
I have always wanted to be of service to other humans, even as far back as kindergarten. My parents told me the story of 5 year old Kimberly asking for double lunches and double snacks, only to find out from the teacher that I was sneaking them to the other kids who didn’t have any.
I struggled with chaotic use and mental health from the time I was 15 years old. It was an uphill battle but I was lucky because I had unconditional love from a supportive family. The next several years were full of physical health issues, mental health crisis, sleeping on couches or in cars, and waking up sick every day. However, every time I hit a wall, I could always call my family. To this day, I will never forget at one of my lowest points in life, my mom saying to me “We will get through anything together.”
I entered recovery in 2015, stripped of any sense of identity and no money, but a deposit and a couple weeks rent paid up at an Oxford House. After multiple failed attempts, this time it stuck. I knew I wanted to be of support to others experiencing the same struggles, but at that time I had no idea how.
I spent the next several years going to school, working in treatment, working in homeless services, working as a peer support, and working in harm reduction in 3 different counties. I loved doing what I could, but I hated trying to help people navigate systems with so many gaps. Sometimes I felt like the bearer of bad news, other times I felt like I was setting them up only so far before the next wall. I started to see that the only difference in myself and the people I was working with was my supportive family. I started to see a real need for support for individuals seeking recovery, that was not one-size-fits all and that did not have financial barriers. This support needed to serve the whole human and essentially be for them, what my supportive family had been for me. I wanted to give folks a different option than 1) stay stuck where you are 2) change everything about yourself, with little support, all at once or 3) wait years to get housed in a home you didn’t choose. I wanted to give folks a place to call home while they figure out their next step, to feel part of community, and to really work on their goals without being told it’s perfection or face homelessness yet again. I started by creating a group like that once a week, which is now 3x a week, and I am striving to make it a real home where we can say “We will get through anything together.”
"This support needed to serve the whole human and essentially be for them, what my supportive family had been for me"
Vinny Greico
I have always been passionate about Art. I have also for most of my life struggled with substances. I was in an accident at 15 and was introduced to opiates and drugs became the closest thing to me second to my art. I spent the majority of my adult life under-resourced and in and out of chaotic use and brief periods of recovery. In 2021 things began to shift. I had spent the better part of the past 10 years without a stable home, isolated, and basically at the point of giving up. After countless treatment programs, Detoxes, Groups, I was still on the street painting almost every day to not only fund my habits but to stay sane.
Painting was the only part of myself I had left. In 2021 I was able to move into an income based apartment for people with no income but I was surrounded by addiction, poverty and suffering. I had no real support from any family and all my relationships were for better or worse transactional. I started to make more authentic connections in the community, I started to use what little I had to support others experiencing similar things. The group at the church felt like a safe space to share my experience, hardships, and triumphs no matter how small at times. I believe what separated me from others in my situation was my passion for something tangible,which is why I now try to form that relationship in others. I became a peer support to share my experience navigating the system and substance use.
I have myself felt if I just had a place to lay my head I could figure this whole thing out. The truth is having that place was a start and where I was able to see what needed to shift in order to feel better. Just having somewhere to be didn’t fix everything for me. Art was and is therapy to me. Community that I feel safe expressing what’s real at any given time gave me the ability to reflect. Meaningful relationships gave me the space to grow.
Now, I work as the Lead Peer Support in a residential setting for people experiencing homelessness. Everyday I get the opportunity to support others going through the same internal battles I once had and navigating the same systems I once did. I work as a professional, but I believe my personal experience drives me to go that extra mile to get folks what they need and where they want to go, even when resources are limited.My life has grown into something that I feel proud of and I want to give that opportunity to anyone that wants that. I see so many folks that are in the place of desiring a shift and they just don’t have the necessary support to do so. Coming from homelessness and addiction I can say the process of change is truly a process. What I see available to our community as far as recovery programs is not tailored to meet the needs of people like me.
"The process of change is truly a process"
This isn’t your traditional 12-step program or halfway house. This isn’t a shelter. This is a real community for real humans to meet each other where they are at with the support of folks who have been there before. This is a new model that has yet to exist, because if everything that existed worked for everyone, we wouldn’t still see so many of our community members struggling.
We are not trying to sell a model of recovery, we are trying to create community and opportunity
© 2026 Heart House Comprehensive Recovery Community
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