Think you’ve got a depressing addiction story? Chances are Susie Hopson-Blum has lived it – or she knows someone who has. Since her own recovery 27 years go, Blum has helped over 1500 people beat their addictions.
Her own addiction story started at the tender age of 11. The daughter of an abusive alcoholic, Blum drank throughout her childhood. From high school into adulthood, she used alcohol, LSD, and cocaine to escape the pain of her childhood. As a real estate agent, Blum was involved in multiple car accidents, often finding herself in court.
She bottomed out when she was 35, but after being threatened with a year in jail, Blum realized it was time to sober up.
She detoxed and underwent treatment at California’s Betty Ford Center for six weeks. She then spent a few more months learning how to live in sobriety with help from Alcoholics Anonymous. She started out her new life needing an AA sponsor for guidance through the world of recovery. Soon enough, she became a sponsor herself, helping others navigate their lives away from addiction.
It was during this time that Blum learned that in order to receive, she had to give. That giving blossomed into her own sober living house, which she named Sober Pacific Living.
Word spread about Blum’s safe residence for recovering addicts, and the rooms at Sober Pacific Living filled quickly. But turning people away simply was not in Blum’s DNA. She expanded her offerings and opened New Method Wellness, a holistic treatment center for addiction substance abusers located in southern California.
Today Blum holds certification as a National Drug and Alcohol Assessor from the National Association of Drug and Alcohol Interventionists. She’s also an intern level-certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor. She serves as Admissions Director at the treatment center she founded, now well known for its highly individualized treatment plans.
She tells us she doesn’t think she’ll ever stop wanting to help people recover, whether they’re addicted to alcohol as she was, or to drugs, gambling, or anger.
