WASHINGTON — A Washington based nonprofit is taking recovery to new heights, using outdoor adventures to help people rebuild their lives after substance use.
Recovery Beyond connects people in recovery through activities including hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing and mountaineering. The organization says the experiences are designed to help participants build community and find support while trying new challenges.
For Crystal Borelli, that mission is personal.
Borelli said she has been sober for more than three years and now works for Recovery Beyond, helping others as they navigate their own recovery.
She said she began using substances when she was 13 and later reached a point when she knew she needed help.
“I remember my first week in rehab, I almost bolted for the door every day,” Borelli said. “I cried in my room every day, just being like, what am I doing here? How did I get to this point?”
Borelli said treatment ultimately saved her life.
Now, she sees a connection between the uncertainty she experienced early in recovery and the challenges participants take on through Recovery Beyond.
That connection was on display in Pioneer Square during the nonprofit’s first “Harness New Heights” fundraiser, where participants rappelled down the six-story Mutual Life Building.
“It is terrifying. It’s like taking a step over the top of the building,” Borelli said.
She described the experience as an exercise in trust, comparing it to leaning on a support system during recovery.
Recovery Beyond board member Bill Goodgion said building those relationships is a key part of the organization’s mission.
“The thing that a lot of people in recovery need immediately is a new network of friends, a new social connection and a community,” Goodgion said.
The fundraiser raised money to help Recovery Beyond continue offering outdoor experiences for free or at a low cost. The nonprofit says it has more than 600 members.
Goodgion said stepping over the edge of the building represented something much bigger for participants.
“Going back to taking that leap of faith and taking that step, like over this deep chasm. That’s what it feels like, I think, for a lot of people in recovery,” he said.
For Borelli, making it safely to the bottom was another reminder that fear does not have to stop someone from moving forward.
“And you know what? That did happen. But I lived and I still made it to the bottom, and now I can say I did,” Borelli said.