Our Founders
Brenda Kennison
I never thought alcohol addiction would impact my family and me. I drank casually and infrequently until my late thirties. At that time, my work environment had become toxic and I struggled with the typical stressors of raising a family and of trying to be a supermom and wife. I began to stop over at a friend’s house for a drink on my way home from work. This small life change began a downward spiral.
After several months, I was overwhelmed and hopeless. I sought my doctor for help. I left his office with a depression diagnosis and a prescription for meds. Shame kept me from telling my doctor the truth about drinking, so my problem worsened, drinking while taking the medication. Over the course of a few years, my doctor increased the dosage of my medication as I wasn’t improving. Unfortunately, the combination of a higher dosage and drinking made me suicidal.
On October 4, 2009, I hit rock bottom. and received a DWI. The DWI made the news and I was catapulted into the middle of a media frenzy. As a highly educated, white-collar professional, I was held to a higher standard. My life was now open to public scrutiny. The fear that I might lose my job because of my addiction became very real.
Eventually, I entered a rehab program and I began to get help. Unfortunately, most of today’s programs are one-fit-for-all. They failed to get to the root cause of my addiction. I was sober, but I really wasn’t well. Over time, I received the help I needed. But, it was often more miss than hit and it took a lot of effort on my part to locate resources.
As co-founder of Day 1 of Sobriety, I want to provide a place for people to access resources and support, to make finding help easy and safe. I want to offer anonymity to those who need it for fear of public shaming or negative reactions from family, peers, community, workplace or career fallout. Getting well shouldn’t be hard! All too often, traditional treatment has failed so many. I’m committed to coming alongside those who struggle with addiction, to remove the barriers to treatment, and to see those who are committed to recovery live their best lives!
Tammy Noble
I have overcome a number of obstacles in my life including teen pregnancy, homelessness, abusive relationships, mental health issues, abandonment, rejection, separation and infidelity.
I started drinking and using drugs at the age of 13 to fit in with friends and cope with life. I found the strength to get sober at the age of 21 when I began 12 years clean and alcohol free. But, I still struggled with food and other addictions.
In 2011, my husband and I started social drinking on date nights while we worked to reconnect and fix broken areas of our marriage. In November of 2011, we separated and in a state of brokenness, loneliness and rebellion, I turned again to alcohol to cope. I spent over 4 years drinking nightly, hanging in bars and avoiding life all together. Blackouts became my new way of life.
In 2015, I received my first DWI. But, I still continued drink. In-fact, my drinking escalated and brought on an additional DWI and a felony driving without a license charge that landed me in jail. Through probation I was forced to "stay sober" which lead me on the journey of mental health and addiction treatments. This, all while trying to fix a broken marriage and broken relationships with my children. I had emotionally abandoned them during the brink of my "sober fallout".
What I found missing in traditional mental health and addiction services was personalization. Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all remedy. It was a very personal path for just me, every day.
Now, I am a successful entrepreneur. I have been happily married for 20 years. I’m a mom of 4 and a Nana to 3 grand-babies!
Through Day 1 of Sobriety, I’m happy to walk alongside individuals on their own journey. I want others to know they are not alone. There is freedom, happiness, wholeness and sobriety in everyone's future!