We were lucky to catch up with Tracey Levine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

I have to start by saying that raising my 4 children has been my greatest accomplishment to date. I give thanks for that gift every single day. By the time my fourth was close to finishing high school, I started thinking about what the next season of my life would look like. I have been in recovery from alcohol addiction since I was 36 and I have spent a good amount of time helping others along in 12 step recovery. It was my oldest daughter who encouraged me to do something with my psychology degree and work in the field of addiction and recovery. I started working for Music City Interventions which led to an interview to do case management for a nonprofit recovery housing community for underserved women. I met with the Board of Directors and was hired to provide 10 hours of weekly case management to the community. I did not serve one day in that role when the Board Chair called and asked me if I would consider the position of Executive Director instead. The Board put a whole lot of trust in my ability to serve in this role. I talked it over with my family and support system and decided that this was placed in my life for a reason. It was a huge leap of faith and there were many challenges in the beginning, but I give thanks every day for this job as well. It has been transformational on many levels.

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

My name is Tracey Levine and I am the Executive Director of Healing Housing. Healing Housing is a nonprofit residential recovery program serving women throughout middle Tennessee who have no financial resources and are healing from addiction. Healing Housing provides shelter and love to 18 women for a minimum of 6 months with many choosing to stay a full year. I spend a great deal of my time fundraising for the organization to make sure that we can cover the costs associated with providing holistic services to women who feel defeated by the disease of addiction. The greatest career accomplishment I have felt in my 5 years as ED is the evolution of the program itself. What started as an organization that provided safe sober living with some additional pro bono services – has turned into a program that provides every woman 9 weeks at no cost, medical and dental care, psychiatric evaluation and medicine management, weekly counseling by a licensed clinician, healthcare, transportation and a 5-week Intensive Outpatient Program. Our case managers provide weekly accountability check-ins while creating a healing plan that is specific to each resident that we serve. Recovery housing is often the biggest step that is overlooked in the continuum of recovery and yet this is where the miracles really happen.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I always believed that a degree or credentials were needed to be successful in a certain field. When I started my job, I was really unsure of myself. And rightfully so. I had zero experience running a nonprofit. I would say I had basic business acumen, but I operated under the misconception that you had to have a degree in the field you were working in to be successful. NOT TRUE. I had worked at Healing Housing for 5 months and was completely overwhelmed for a number of reasons. I ended up having some extra challenges with a volunteer committee that resulted in a lot of undue stress and sleepless nights. I had to really evaluate the physical and emotional toll that the job was taking on myself and my family at the time. I put in my notice and worked alongside the Founder to interview and eventually hire my replacement. This person had the degree, the experience and everything that looked to be the perfect fit for Healing Housing. I transitioned to serving on the Board and over the course of the next 5 months watched the new ED whittle down the bank account to less than two months of operating expenses and no plan to fundraise. I proposed that the board let her go, hire me back and cut my salary in thirds. I hired a marketing advisor and an assistant. I listened to my inner voice, trusted friends and professionals in the field and built a program that was centered around the needs of the women that we housed. I would say that it has been my Emotional Intelligence that has been the key to my success in this field. I had to quit comparing myself with others and start trusting my intuition and using my strengths. That has made all the difference.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back in time, I would have pursued a degree in Social Work. I work with and coordinate care with many social workers on a daily basis and I see how valuable their work is.  I don’t think I would have ever considered a Leadership role such as Executive Director when I started my career and that is only because I would have sold myself short.  As life goes though, this has turned out to be the perfect fit for me.  I wouldn’t change it for the world.  I come to work excited and hopeful for every woman that we serve.  I work in a profession that is seated in the solution to the problem of addiction and I get to see families reunited, women stepping into careers, restoration of health and hopefulness restored to women who felt hopeless.   I have the best seat in the house.

Contact Info:

• Website: healinghousing.org
• Instagram: @healinghousinginc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healinghousinginc