Recovery Hero 2.0: Tony Edgell

My name is Anthony or Tony Edgell, and I started my recovery journey in 2014 with a stay in residential treatment. After multiple recurrences, I am lucky to say that I now have over 2 years of continuous sustained recovery with my recovery start date being 04/29/2022.

I am most proud of the realization that my recovery must be my top priority, and that anything I put before it, I will eventually give away. I absolutely couldn’t have done it without the recovery community here at SRC and in Colorado Springs as a whole. I also attribute my success to constantly seeking God’s will for my life and making changes accordingly. I am extremely thankful for my spiritual growth and realizing that Faith, love, and forgiveness are action words — not mere feelings or thoughts.

A low point for me was when I was unable to be in my daughter’s life due to my substance use disorder and choosing not to be in recovery. After much growth and taking the right actions, I was finally reunited with her several months ago. Our relationship is constantly growing and evolving, and I am so grateful to be in her life working towards being the man and father that she deserves and that God wants me to be.

Today, I am a CPFS or Certified Peer & Family Specialist through the state of Colorado or COPA. I obtained my certification through my time here at Serenity Recovery Connection. I started here originally in early 2022 as a participant with a coach, Bonnie. I eventually became a volunteer and did my best to be of service and give back however possible. I became an intern later that year and was hired as a full-time coach the following year in July 2023. I worked as a Justice Coach here at SRC for the rest of 2023. I left SRC at the end of 2023 to work in my skilled trade, HVAC/R and to pursue what I believe to be a higher calling from God. I have learned so much this year and one thing I continue to learn each day is that what is worth it is never easy. If things were always easy, I wouldn’t challenge myself to be better and do things differently. Lately, I feel I am being led to help people experiencing homelessness. Where that road will lead, I’m not sure, but I am willing and ready to do whatever is necessary to help those in need whenever and however I am able. Willingness really is the key to a New Life.

I am forever grateful to SRC for being such an amazing and innovative workplace. It is an exemplary and transparent non-profit organization and community of allies and people with lived experience making an indelible impact in the lives of those seeking recovery and on the recovery community at large. SRC is a most welcoming place full of acceptance, love, kindness, and tolerance, and I don’t think I would be where I am in my own recovery if it weren’t for the people there and how they operate.

To be of service in my recovery, I facilitate and attend meetings/groups across multiple recovery pathways. I work with other men in one of my programs of recovery to give back and help them identify the areas in which they need to change and be better. It is one of the greatest gifts to be able to help others in such a meaningful way and to see them find recovery and make positive changes.

I am also involved in my church and it has been a true place of solace and growth in the knowledge and understanding of who I am and where I’m going. It is a beautiful thing to have your sight restored, and Through my Faith, I am able to take daily action to do my best to show up and do the best I can each and every day in service of God for myself, my family, and the people about me. I know that mistakes are an absolute certainty, but true solution is found in how we persevere and that is what really matters!