Motorcycling and substance abuse recovery support may not be the first two things you think about in the morning, but for Executive Director of Peer180, Angie Bertrand, this is what gets her up in the morning.
Peer180 is Grand Junction’s local Recovery Community Organization (RCO), which is an independent non-profit pioneered by those well into the recovery process themselves. In this organization, peers offer each other their support and experience to aid in their recovery from substance abuse. Peer180 has become an integral component of Grand Junction since its recent induction.
“In 2019 we became an official non-profit organization, but it took us a while to actually come into the community,” Bertrand said. “They asked me to become a board member in early 2020. At that point, they were out of a director, so that’s when I stepped in and became director. We have been pushing the envelope ever since.”
This field of work is natural for Bertrand in the way it pairs with her love for helping others through their toughest times.
“When somebody is coming into our world they’re at the most difficult time of their life,” Bertrand said. “So for a person to be allowed to assist in that journey, there’s just nothing more rewarding than seeing somebody come back to life. There really isn’t.”
In the last year with Peer180, Bertrand has set to expand its accessibility to all members of Grand Junction, including the student body here at Colorado Mesa University (CMU.)
“We need to get on the college campus because there’s a whole population that tends to be closed-self,” Bertrand said. “It’s sort of like the college is its own little island in Grand Junction. We need to go to them. We need to become accessible on campus and have people become aware of us, rather than asking students to come to us…That’s where it started.”
With the first meeting of Peer180 at CMU being this school year its hold on the student body has already begun to grow.
“There’s a new person every single time. We’re small, but it will grow because we’re going to stay put,” Bertrand said.
Aside from her love for helping others, Bertrand holds a longtime love for cruising through the Western Slope on her 2004 Harley Roadking.
“I grew up on [a motorcycle]. It’s been a passion of mine for a really long time, and I think I have been riding for a total of 20 years…I feel like a badass when I’m riding it.”
While one might not expect to see Bertrand with her two-wheeled companion on a regular commute, biking has become an essential part of her life.
“This is a wonderful town to be a biker in because in the Summertime you can get up high in the mountains and cool off,” Bertrand said. “I happen to like the heat, so I tend to go West where we have those wonderful open roads and beautiful scenery. You just get to go out there and blow the cobwebs out of your head, and it’s really therapeutic actually.”
Though at the end of the day, Bertrand’s involvement with Peer180 might be her most rewarding experience yet.
“Seeing the light come on in someone’s eyes is just something you can’t duplicate. It’s so rewarding to see somebody who is going through such a difficult struggle and hasn’t really had a lot of support, and you have got this group of people that comes around them and say we got you. And it’s not just words. They invite you to coffee, they invite you to go bowling with them, they call you at some random time just to see how you are,” Bertrand said.
Peer 180’s All Recovery Meetings are held at CMU’s Wellness Center in room 150 every Thursday at 7 pm.
