Who said people can’t change? There are people in every city thriving in recovery.

In the Summer of 2022, we interviewed people in recovery in Winnebago County to document their journey and use their stories for a positive PSA short film highlighting people in recovery. The video was released in January of 2023 to help break the stigma of addiction and support local recovery resources.

When we created the video, we didn't know that it would go on to be supported nationally and statewide by the WI DOJ and Medical College of Wisconsin. The statewide campaign aired in 14 Wisconsin counties on TV, Gas Station TV, movie theaters, social media, and billboards. The campaign aired in 50 cities across the state, reaching an audience of nearly 20 million.

The Thriving in Recovery short film became the largest statewide recovery video campaign in Wisconsin in 2023.

We are incredibly proud of where this video has taken us.

Not only does this short film highlight real stories of people in recovery in our community, but it was also created by a local video production company (Mirrorless Productions) out of Oshkosh whose owner is in recovery. We worked closely on the creation of the video, especially the messaging. We chose to highlight how each individual is thriving by focusing on where they are today, and what they love to do. Many individuals find their life-long hobby once they get clean & sober, and turn their life around. Addiction has the power to steal our passions and dreams, but it’s never too late to turn it around and get them back.

We wanted to break the stigma with this video as well. Too often, in media (from the news to the movies) we see people in recovery in a dark basement or at their worst. And while that can be true at times, it’s highlighting the darkest part, and not allowing the light to shine on them. People do turn their life around. And some of those people go on to be significant change-makers in their communities. The people you see in this video are them on their best day—their authentic selves doing the thing they were meant to do. And most of them would probably admit, if they weren’t in recovery, they wouldn’t be doing that thing.

Learn More About Their Stories Below.

We followed up with each individual featured in the PSA Short Film after the video was done. We wanted to give the video viewer more insight into their story.

We asked them all the same 7 questions to let you hear more about their journey.