RRP 120 — Luciano, Ebony & Jack / Hope Dealers: Peer Services — We’re Here to Love You Until You Can Love Yourself Presenter: Peter B. and Julie L. | Length: 1:18:00 | Release Date: June 26, 2026 Recorded live at True Colors Recovery in Portland, three returning guests — Luciano Nicolas (Atlas Treatment Center), Ebony Brawley (4D Recovery), and Jack Taylor (True Colors Recovery) — join Peter and Julie to break down peer services: what they are, how they differ from sponsorship, and what it looks like when someone meets you exactly where you are — on the streets, in jail, or in a tent with a dog you won’t leave behind. Key Points 00:04:00 Jack introduces True Colors Recovery — a drop-in community center for the LGBTQ+ community, with AA, Dharma, and SAA meetings. Walk-in hours: 12:00 PM–8:00 PM, Sunday–Friday. Peer mentors Mordecai and Leo support transgender members through sobriety and the affirmation journey.00:08:30 Ebony describes her outreach role with 4D Recovery: teams reach the houseless population in East County and near the Central Library with supplies, wound care, and same-day assessments. “We’re like little hope dealers out there.”00:11:30 Luciano introduces Atlas Treatment Center — PHP, IOP, OP, and DUI program — and the peer and housing partners they work with: The Peer Company, Sober Housing Oregon, Sober Living PDX, Galia Recovery, and Northwest Recovery Homes.00:13:00 Peter asks the group to define peer services. Ebony: “A peer has lived experience with substance use disorder — they help navigate recovery and reintegration.” Peer mentors differ from sponsors: professional, no 12-step work, focused on removing barriers.00:19:00 Luciano shares how peer mentorship changed his own life — connecting with a peer specialist at a True Colors meeting and getting into detox that same day. On July 3rd, his peer mentor said the sentence that kept him in: “In reality, if you leave now, you may not come back.”00:21:00 Jack describes the True Colors intake process — answering every call, even from jail — listening without judgment and connecting people with peer mentors. “I’m the glue.” No one is turned away.00:26:00 Ebony on outreach: building trust over months, visiting the same person many times before they say yes. The story of two brothers who took nearly a year to go into detox — and what happened when one left early.00:44:00 Common barriers: losing belongings, not being ready, court dates, and pets. Galia Recovery offers dog-friendly housing. Ebony finds fosters through anonymous Facebook posts. The Pathway Center stores belongings while someone sobers up.00:57:00 Jack’s story: homeless at the Holgate MAX station in 2015, soaking wet in the rain, he passed out and woke up to find a warm coat zipped around him by a stranger never identified. “When I think about it, it stirs something in me.”01:06:00 “If you can get one month, you can get two. Sky’s the limit — you don’t have to be broken. You can become whole.” Jack is celebrating ten years of continuous sobriety.01:13:00 Closing statements — Jack: “If you don’t fit in somewhere, go somewhere else.” Ebony: “You’re worth it. If you are alive, you matter.” Luciano: “We’re not here to judge you. We’re here to help you, guide you, and love you until you can love yourself.” “We’re not here to judge you. We’re here to help you. We’re here to guide you, and we’re here to love you until you can love yourself.” — Luciano Nicolas Websites Discussed True Colors Recovery4D RecoveryAtlas Treatment CenterGalia RecoveryThe Peer CompanyPathway CenterSober Housing OregonSober Living PDXNorthwest Recovery HomesOxford HouseSnowCap Community ServicesReal Recovery Podcast #RealRecoveryPodcast, #Recovery, #PeerServices, #HopeDealers, #RecoveryCommunity, #TrueColors, #4DRecovery, #AtlasTreatment, #SoberLife, #RecoveryPodcast, @realrecoverypodcast Real Recovery Podcast is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 99-1347297
