Former addict turned advocate: Jennifer Miller empowers Arkansas County residents for recovery

Jennifer Miller is using her past addiction struggles to help Arkansas County residents ready for change. The county used part of its Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership funds to hire Miller as a peer support specialist for the Arkansas County specialty court.

By: Kelly Connelly
Stuttgart Daily Leader

Jennifer Miller is using her past addiction struggles to help Arkansas County residents ready for change.

The county used part of its Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership funds to hire Miller as a peer support specialist for the Arkansas County specialty court. Funding comes from a lawsuit filed by all 75 Arkansas counties and most cities and towns in the state against opioid companies. Funds from the lawsuit are to implement solutions to fight the Arkansas opioid epidemic.

“I help with the transition in court,” Miller said. “We use our lived experiences to help others. Peer support specialists can relate to what others are going through.”

Miller’s story

Miller was born in Lake Village, Arkansas, and grew up in Bastrop, Louisiana. She moved back to Arkansas to live with her grandmother in 1996. She said her addiction did not start until her mid-twenties.

“I got with a guy who sold drugs. We got into cocaine. After cocaine, it was methamphetamine. I was in addiction for 11 years. It was probably more like 15 if you count the marijuana, which I feel like was a crutch that led me into the rest of it,” Miller said.

Now drug-free for nearly six years, Miller left jail for the last time in 2019. Arkansas County Prosecutor Tim Blair allowed her to participate in drug court, which is a structured program that helps people with addiction get back on track. Participants get random drug tests, counseling, and weekly meetings with a judge.

“I spent nine months in drug court, and it changed my life,” Miller said. “I knew I would be dead if I did not change. There was no other way out.”

After she completed the program, Miller started working at Kelly’s On The Square in downtown DeWitt and enrolled in classes at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas. Her time at PCCUA brought new opportunities.

“They offered me a job as a librarian. That was my first real job in my life. I felt amazing,” Miller said.

Miller graduated from PCCUA with two associate degrees, one in general education and another in behavioral health. Her desire to learn kept growing after she started her collegiate journey and she began questioning her addiction tendencies. This led Miller to enroll in an online interdisciplinary studies program through the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

“I took a substance use disorder class and found out a lot of (the answers to) the questions that I had during the classes there,” Miller said. “I graduate from there in May with my bachelor’s degree and start grad school in August.”

In addition to tackling a full-time job and comprehensive course load, Miller still works part-time at Kelly’s On The Square and has three grown daughters and seven grandchildren.

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