We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Rosser. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with ashley below.

Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

In 2019 I lost an ex-boyfriend to overdose. After learning the context to his death, I became engulfed in anger, in sadness, and I wanted answers. At first, I wanted to know every detail about his last day. I wanted someone to blame. As days went by my questions changed from “who sold him bad drugs?” to “what even is an overdose?”. This shift in my thinking changed the trajectory of my life. I went from seeking justice to seeking knowledge.

I started plugging away into google, “what happens during an overdose?” and “what do paramedics do when someone overdoses?”. A plethora of pages populated and as I clicked through them I learned of Naloxone, or commonly known as the brand name “Narcan” – a nasal spray. It kicks opiates off receptors in the brain and allows for restored breathing reversing the overdose. This little device was all that was needed and he could be alive today. So many people could be alive today.

I was two years into my own recovery journey at this point in time, and was shocked that I had never been educated on Naloxone. I spent a decade using drugs of all kinds, everything from pills, to meth, then heroin and fentanyl. I had spent years bouncing between jail, women’s recovery homes, inpatient and outpatient, I’ve done a variety of self-help 12 step groups, and I had never been offered Naloxone or been educated on overdoses. The main focus of my experience in these spaces was that “drugs are bad, and abstaining from them was good.” No in-between. Very black and white. This frustrated me, and again prompted yet more questions. Why was I never taught about the very thing that could save lives of people like me? Like would we not want diabetics to know about insulin? Or people with allergies to know of the epi-pen?

I felt betrayed by the people who told me they would help me, my probation officer, doctors, nurses, therapists, sponsors, peers. Out of all of these touch points I had during my drug use, there was so much opportunity for someone to inform & educate me. Everyone was so focused on convincing me that I needed to be abstinent that they were missing the obvious, what if I didn’t want to be? They all missed a key opportunity. I was truly failed, and I thought “if this happened to me, then it’s happening to others”. This was unacceptable to me, and I couldn’t ignore what I had just learned. I had to do something about this, far too many lives had been lost and all of it preventable. I didn’t just want to learn, I needed to take action.

So, I began to dedicate my time learning everything I could about Naloxone and overdoses. I went through pages and pages of google searches, eventually coming across the term Harm Reduction, which is an evidence-based approach to drug use that aims to reduce risks associated with it. I was shocked at what I learned. Websites full of information about drugs that weren’t centered around abstinence, that wasn’t focused on treatment, that didn’t talk about people who use drugs in a negative light. Just real factual information.

I searched on Facebook “narcan training” and “harm reduction” and a group popped up called “Narcan Training in Columbus”. I joined it. I was blown away by what I saw, these folks didn’t just offer overdose training but they were distributing it as well – all for free. I started networking with folks and soon began distributing the nasal spray myself. Using the relationships I’ve built over the years, and advertising on social media, I quickly became the Cleveland area distributor covering Northeast Ohio, and shipping it all over the country. I would give training and supplies to anyone who asked, for whatever reason. People who use drugs, a family member of someone in recovery who just wanted to be safe, concerned citizens, business owners, anyone at all. I was just a regular girl in recovery wanting to make the world a better place.

As I began to expand my efforts, I started to meet more people who did community work. That led me to being hired at a Peer Recovery Support organization that gave me the resources I needed to officially start this Harm Reduction project – and be compensated for it. This was completely new territory, for the company and myself. They had never had a “Harm Reduction Specialist” and I had never been one. There was no blueprint to be followed, just what I felt I knew I needed to do. I was scared leaving my job at the car auction behind, but I knew this was where I needed to be. I had to decide for myself if I was going to keep waiting for someone to do something about this overdose crisis, or if I was going to step up and do it myself. This project was quickly successful, and soon outgrew the organization, with support it turned into it’s own fully independent 501(c)3 non-profit known today as “Thrive for Change”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m currently 35 years old, and have been in recovery from drug use since 2017. I started using drugs as a teen and as time went on began trying new types of drugs. The political landscape changes in Ohio really effected my drug using experience. For example, when I first started using drugs my friends and I had access to medications that came straight from a pharmacy. This meant we knew what was in our drugs, how strong they were, and how much we could safely take. This changed when our government began targeting doctors, pain clinics, and increased penalties & sentencing for people caught with prescriptions. When the prescription medications became too dangerous to travel with for fear of being caught, it pushed buyers & sellers to look for other options – heroin. So that’s what I ended up transitioning too. It took for a few years for the government to realize the drug trends had shifted, but eventually realized and added heroin as another substance it would crack down on. Again, people buying & selling drugs saw harsher crack downs and looked for other options. It’s like playing a game of whack a mole, get rid of one drug and more pop up to replace it. Every time the drugs are more risky. That’s when fentanyl came into play, and it changed everything. We started dying, we started being sent away for longer periods of time, we struggled to find work with drug charges on our records. Our friend groups were ripped apart. It is still to this day hostile to exist as a drug user and a drug user in recovery.

It took me years to understand how politics effected my experience as a drug user, and the root of why my friends are dead. So today, I teach about this information. I teach people about Harm Reduction, and why they should care. I show them that everything is connected, and how we can change our world for the better. We can save lives by changing our policies on the government level. I also show them that even if we can’t single-handedly take on the government and change everything in a day, there are things we can do as individuals. We can learn to use naloxone, recognize overdoses, and carry it with us wherever we go. Overdoses happen in public spaces, not just in far away places like we see in movies. I empower people to take action & help them to understand this a community problem that deserves a community solution.

More specifically, Thrive for Change is a Harm Reduction focused non-profit based in Cleveland. We have a full service syringe program where people can access syringes, return used ones, they can get free healthcare & hygiene products like plan b, soaps, shampoos, clothing, shoes, coats, and get a freshly cooked meal. Many of our participants are unsheltered, due to lack of access to mental healthcare, jobs, or have a record that prevents them from doing what they need to do. Drug policy, and lack of good drug policy, has many ripple effects, and this is one of them. So we use our relationships with other organizations to help connect our community to the care they need. If someone comes to us needing a Peer Supporter, we have partners that we can refer them too.

I spend a majority of my time running our education department. Training other businesses & organizations on Harm Reduction and ensuring that they are properly trained on what they need to do in event of an overdose. Not only that, but teaching them best practices of Harm Reduction to make sure they are not stigmatizing people who use drugs, and encouraging them to learn more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Entering the harm reduction field, I quickly realized that unlearning stigma was just as important as distributing naloxone or providing sterile supplies. Despite my lived experience and passion for meeting people where they’re at, I had to confront internalized biases shaped by societal narratives about drug use, treatment, and recovery. Through direct engagement with people who use drugs, and struggling with my own, I learned that everyone’s journey is unique, and there is no “right” way to heal or survive. Listening to the realities of those navigating substance use, homelessness, and criminalization helped me shift from judgment to deep empathy. Unlearning stigma is an ongoing process, but every day, I strive to create spaces where people feel seen, valued, and supported—without shame or conditions.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

In 2020, I met my current business partner Bethany Roebuck at a community pop-up outreach event that I organized to give out Naloxone. The two of us connected right away. Bethany had worked in the recovery field leading statewide initiatives for several years and was looking for a way to do more to directly impact lives so she found herself showing up to volunteer her skills at these pop-ups. At this time, it was the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic and resources for people at risk of overdoses were very limited. Many other Narcan distribution sites had shut down or reduced their hours. Overdose fatalities increased statewide by 20% and it was clear more needed to be done and fast.

Ashley and Bethany met and developed a plan to conduct COVID-19 protocol compliant community outreach events around Northeast Ohio. These events were not only designed to connect people to harm reduction resources, they also encompassed a full continuum of services such as basic needs, employment, treatment options, and primary care. These efforts would eventually become known as the “Thrive for Change Outreach Tour” and they served over 3,000 people across 5 counties in just a few months.

We took Bethany’s knowledge of business development & my lived experience using drugs, and turned it into something beautiful that has saved the lives of hundreds of people in Ohio and has equipped others to follow in our footsteps. What started as a collaboration in crisis quickly grew into a partnership rooted in trust, mutual respect, and a relentless drive to expand harm reduction efforts in our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thrive4change.org
• Instagram: @thrive_4change
• Facebook: Thrive for Change (the page) and Ohio Harm Reduction Alliance (the facebook group)

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