Kristen Cole-Esson joined SSPR as Program Director of the Wey of Life Peer Recovery Center in January 2024. She has been involved at SSPR since the beginning initially as a volunteer and committee chair. Kristen co-facilitated our first recovery group, Faith Finders, that is still thriving today. Kristen is a Weymouth native and is excited to be back working in her hometown.  Kristen was the Addictions Nurse Liaison for South Shore Health at South Shore Medical Center starting the OBAT program serving our most vulnerable populations. She has created publications on AUD for ONE Healthy Boston and authored a blog for South Shore Health.  Kristen is licensed as an alcohol and drug counselor LADC and obtained a national certification as a Peer Recovery Support Specialist through NAADAC. Kristen has spent the last several years working as the Director of Community Health at East Coast Recovery in Cohasset and remains involved on the steering committee for Safe Harbor Coalition in Cohasset.

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Since 2020 she has been a Nurse volunteer with Constanza Medical Mission and travels to the Dominican Republic every November providing medical care for in underserved areas.   Kristen’s greatest passion is destigmatizing the disease of AUD and SUD by being a strong voice for change and identifying as a person in long term recovery.   She is a strong believer that self-care is vital to one’s own recovery and implements a mind, body, soul approach into her everyday life.