Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Kristy Naughton, 49, of Warrington, spent many years in the grip of alcohol and drug addiction that wreaked havoc on everyone and everything important to her.
By the time she was 34, she was homeless and had lost custody of her three children. Addicted to methamphetamine, she relied on anger and aggression as a means of survival.
Naughton experienced abuse and dysfunction throughout her childhood and adult years. She described her substance abuse as being driven by fear. Naughton said she was “such a scared little girl” and often wanted to die. She spent time in and out of psychiatric facilities and had lost hope of ever having a better life.
But Naughton was ready to make a change once she couldn’t be with her children.
“All three of them were taken from me. It was about two months after my kids were taken from me. I don't know if that was the moment of clarity, as we call it. But there was a woman that I didn't even really know that well, and I told her I needed help. And she made the phone call with me to get help," Naughton said.
It was Christmas time when she went into treatment, making it a difficult time to be away from her children.
“I was never in treatment before. It was my first and only time going to treatment. But I think I was just in such a desperate state of mind. I didn't want to live anymore. I knew it was either asking for help, or pretty much just existing with nothing.”
Naughton began rebuilding her family and personal relationships. She started her new life of sobriety on Dec. 7, 2011, and is now in her 15th year of recovery.
Today, Naughton serves as an alumni coordinator at Avenues Recovery Center at Bucks in Jamison. She works directly with people fighting addiction at all stages of recovery to help them improve their lives.
Naughton said the most difficult part for most people is becoming vulnerable and asking for help.
“That's the hardest part. Once they ask for help then you just keep trying until it finally clicks. There are a lot of people out there that maybe quit drinking or drugging but are still not living right. So, it’s important to have guidance and help to continue growing.”
September marks a special time of year for Naughton and her coworkers to celebrate success and hope. National Recovery Month, observed since 1989, celebrates the gains made by those in recovery from substance use disorder. This year’s theme is Recovery is REAL (Restoring Every Aspect of Life), which reflects much of what Naughton has achieved and what she challenges others to find in their own sobriety journey.
“A lot of times, the stigma of addiction or alcoholism affects you long-term, no matter where you're at in recovery,” Naughton said. “We've spent most of our addiction or alcoholism being really self-centered and selfish, and when we get sober and we unleash all of our past, we leave it behind us, we are actually kind, loving and compassionate people. National Recovery Month, for me, is to show our community and to show each other that we can help our community.”
As alumni coordinator at Avenues, Naughton works with patients while they are in extended treatment, which includes partial hospitalization and an outpatient program.
“I build a relationship with them while they're there. When they're done with their extended treatment program, I keep a relationship with them. So, I stay in contact to make sure that they are working on their recovery," said Naughton. "We do things together to let them know they're not alone. They have a family. They have support.
"We get all the alumni together and do different activities. We have alumni meetings once a week at the program. We talk about what our struggles are or what our gains were," she continued. "I help them with finding sponsors in either AA or NA (Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous). They have support.”
During National Recovery Month — and throughout the year — Avenues alumni and staff go into the community to attend various events and support nonprofits throughout the area. Recently, they attended the Doylestown Arts Festival, proudly wearing their recovery T-shirts. They have also participated in cleanups at Tyler State Park. Upcoming alumni events are scheduled at Muddy Paws Farm Rescue in New Jersey and Shady Brook Farm in Yardley.
“We want to make people in the community aware that we are in recovery and that this is our next chapter. We like to promote that we are regular people, just like everyone else and we are always looking for more volunteer opportunities as a way of giving back.”
To those who are deep in the struggle today, Naughton has a strong but hopeful message.
“Don’t give up on yourself. You’ve got to keep trying. We lost the power of choice, right? We can’t keep thinking we can control and manage and successfully drink or use. We alcoholics and drug addicts, we can’t," she said. "We need to just surrender and have faith that something greater than us, even if it’s another person, can help us live a better life. We just tackle one little thing at a time and just stay in today. Allow other people to help you.
"What I do say to people is: "You've got to keep trying.”
To learn more about National Recovery Month, visit naadac.org/national-recovery-month. To learn more about Avenues Recovery Center at Bucks, visit avenuesrecovery.com.
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