Nov 9, 2026 · 30 min
Recovery programs turn second chances into lasting work
From Heroin Addiction to a 100-Bed Recovery Empire
The episode examines whether recovery support, housing, and employer accountability can replace stigma with a durable path to stability.
- 1Craig Hettlinger links treatment, transitional housing, construction, and real estate to a practical recovery pathway.
- 2Individualized stabilization and communication help employers support people in recovery before problems become crises.
- 3Affordable housing and meaningful work give recovery participants accountability, purpose, and a route toward financial stability.
Don't miss
Hettlinger explains how a bar-and-restaurant partnership uses constant communication among employer, program, and participant to create accountability.
The brief
After 16 years of heroin addiction and a near-fatal fentanyl experience, Craig Hettlinger describes finding purpose in helping others build lives beyond addiction.
In Huntington, West Virginia, Hettlinger connects the Huntington Addiction Wellness Center with transitional housing, construction, real estate, and jobs staffed by people in recovery.
His program delays transitional housing until participants show meaningful change, then combines work, fees, daily responsibility, and support to make accountability concrete.
A bar-and-restaurant partnership shows the model’s central tension: employers may fear instability, but constant communication can turn support into unusually strong workplace commitment.
Hettlinger argues that affordable housing and purposeful work are recovery infrastructure, helping participants avoid high rents while building financial stability and a future larger than his own.
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