NEW Alumna: Where are they now? Donna Burke, Recovery Coach

Every day the women at New Endeavors by Women (NEW) are reshaping history and creating new legacies for themselves and their families.

One such legacy-builder is our alumna Donna Burke. You may remember Donna — she was honored with NEW’s 2024 New Light Alumna Award for her dedicated service to the community and her leadership as a recovery coach.

When Donna first came to NEW, she had just begun the process of writing a new story for herself and her future.

Sobered by witnessing how her brother’s addiction caused his death, Donna decided to make a change. She was welcomed into the recovery community, and found herself embraced by people excited to support her sobriety.

Donna moved into New Hope (the NEW housing program initially founded to care for women with HIV). Donna was ready and well-supported to take advantage of the resources available at NEW. Her time at New Hope gave Donna the confidence she needed to take her next steps and shine.

Being surrounded by people invested in her well-being made all the difference, and Donna felt safe. Her newfound chosen family pushed her vision for herself and her future. She realized didn’t just want to get stable and stay sober, she wanted to give back and help prevent deaths from addiction.

Donna began volunteering with a treatment program and then was hired as a residential aide. By the time she left NEW, she was able to take classes at the Department of Behavioral Health so she could begin working as a peer specialist. Donna has since become a recovery coach, and now works as a care coordinator at Behavioral Health Group.

“There’s nothing like giving back,” Donna says, “Being able to help someone and not just help them by way of in-treatment [recovery support], but to be able to share my story and to give them some hope and let them know that, hey, [recovery] is possible.”

Donna’s choice to give herself a chance to change has had a lasting impact on the futures of those in her community. She’s making history and saving lives. Go Donna!

“What I couldn't do for [my brother], I can now do for people who are just like me,” she says. “I've taken so much from the community with my substance use that all should be given back, not just to the people who I work with, who I serve at my job, but also the people out in the street.”