INDIANAPOLIS — More than 63,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016 and every day 6 people die from alcohol poisoning in the United States.
A local treatment center is working to help people fight their addictions with a unique approach.
At Families First, they've developed a mentor group to help support people in their recovery.
"For years I've battled substance abuse," Natasha Ashley said. "When you're an addict you think that's all there is, there's nothing else for you but that."
Ashley is now sober after arriving at Families First in 2017. Attending outpatient treatment and substance use education, Ashley is now a Families First mentor, helping to support patients who are currently in recovery.
"Addicts like to talk to other people that have been in their shoes and walked the steps that they have walked," she said.
Shannon Alford, counselor to Ashley, said she's seen each of her clients blossom through the mentor group.
"They themselves give back to their clients by showing peer support in group, they can go to AA meetings, and we're also in the process in community activities that other people in the community can come to," Alford said.
Ashley said becoming a mentor has added more meaning to her life.
"Now I can help people, I can give back and show people there is hope other than addiction," she said.
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