By Keisha L. Jackson

Air Force Veteran and Family Caregiver

September is National Recovery Month. This years theme: Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections (https://rm.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org) reminds people in recovery and those who support them that we all have victories to celebrate and things we may wish we had done differently.

Americas Heroes Group celebrates military family caregivers recent guest panelist, Sazha Alexandra Ramos, a Navy veteran in recovery from substance use disorder. Sazha is disrupting the narrative of addiction by getting the message out: people in recovery exist. With nearly six years of recovery, Sazha tells her story so others can learn and be proactive about seeking support services.

Though Sazha used substances as a teenager, it never deterred her from wanting to join the Navy. She believed the military would help her find purpose in life. After graduating high school, Naval boot camp, and A-School (technical training), she was stationed in Italy as an information technology specialist. Sazha was finding her purpose and connection. Six months later, her career capsized after being in an automobile accidenther head hit the window hard and her body suffered trauma.At 19, Sazha was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and she lost vision in one eye.

After a month in an Italian hospital, Sazha was transferred to a wounded warrior hospital in the U.S. and placed in barracks with primarily combat, wounded men. She was seen by doctors, neurologists, psychologists, a neuro-ophthalmologist, and was prescribed a lot of medications for physical and emotional pain. It was really tough there, says Sazha. I felt alone and didnt know how to talk to people about what was going on even though I had a therapist.

Sazha hoped to stay in the Navy, but a medical evaluation board determined otherwise. After multiple challenges seeking care with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she eventually received the treatment she needed.

During four months of seeking sobriety, Sazha lived in a recovery house, which led to her owning/operating two recovery houses; obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Human Behavior; presenting on a national level for harm reduction, collegiate recovery, and recovery housing; interning with the Association of Recovery in Higher Education; working at the SAFE Project; and for the Veterans Administration, the Chief of Naval Operations Awards Board, and on Capitol Hill for the Wounded Warrior Program that placed veterans in congressional members districts.

Sazha understands there are barriers to accessing treatment for substance use disorder and recognizes that financial support for Black and brown communities is crucial.She is committed to raising one million dollars for people of color and the veteran community to support their recovery housing journey.

If you would like to learn more about this effort, email info@recoveryorganization.com or text GIVE to 83336475.

Keisha L. Jacksonis a 22-year retired Air Force veteran. After caring for her mother who had stage 4 inoperable lung cancer, Keisha started learning about caregiver resources to share with other caregivers.

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Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections | The Crusader Newspaper Group - The Chicago Cusader