Lynn Zielasko Unfiltered — Episode 7: Showing Up and Suiting Up: Transforming Lived Experience into Policy Change

In this powerful episode, hosts April and Lynn explore how the journey of recovery can transform deep shame, survival, and loss into a life of purpose, service, and systemic advocacy. April candidly shares her personal trajectory from a stable, "white-picket-fence" life to severe substance use, homelessness, and operating in constant crisis while living in a tent. Together, they dive into the raw emotional realities of early sobriety, discussing the physical toll of survival mode, the challenge of learning to feel vulnerability and joy again, and the deep healing that comes through peer support, community housing, and self-forgiveness. The conversation also highlights why recovery is never a one-size-fits-all journey. April outlines her unconventional path to wellness—including couples recovery housing, harm reduction, and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—which eventually led her to vital peer support work at the Snohomish County Diversion Center. Ultimately, April and Lynn demonstrate how lived experience can fuel political advocacy, encouraging listeners to "show up, suit up," and use their own stories to shape policies and inspire systems change.    For more information, visit:  https://kennedysplace.org/