Katherine Truesdell’s story begins in middle school, where her first experiences with meth and alcohol set the stage for a long and difficult journey with addiction. Like many women struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), the road to recovery wasn’t linear. Truesdell eventually hit “rock bottom” when child protective services became involved with her children—an event that shook her to the core and pushed her toward seeking help. That moment became the turning point in her life. Today, Truesdell is in long-term recovery and is dedicated to peer support for women in recovery. As a peer specialist with Elevance Health’s Empower program, she uses her lived experience to help others walk their own recovery paths, turning her past pain into present purpose.
The Empower program, launched in January 2023 by Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV), is designed specifically for women between the ages of 18 and 40 who are either living with a substance use disorder or are at risk of developing one. Backed by Elevance’s affiliated health plans—which serve more than 119 million people across the United States—Empower brings a much-needed, women-centered approach to behavioral health care. The program’s goal is to not only support recovery but to also address the broader implications of substance use among women, including the alarming rise in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). These conditions occur when babies experience withdrawal symptoms after being exposed to substances in utero, often leading to significant health complications for newborns.
The Role of Peer Support for Women in Recovery
Empower takes a proactive stance by meeting women where they are—before, during, and after pregnancy—and ensuring they have access to care, support, and education. Peer recovery specialists like Truesdell play a vital role in this process. With lived experience and empathy at the core of their work, they provide a powerful connection that traditional clinical models often lack. “When it comes to recovery, there’s so much shame and so much guilt,” Truesdell shared. “The minute somebody says, ‘I’m in long-term recovery,’ you want to talk to that person, you immediately feel the sense of ‘You get me.’”
These connections are a key element of peer support for women in recovery, and they can become lifelines. Truesdell recalled spending three hours on the phone with a 19-year-old woman struggling with fentanyl use who needed help getting into a detox program and finding the strength to tell her mother. “She said, ‘I need to get into treatment, and I need to tell my mom, and I can’t do it alone.’ I stayed with her to call detox centers to make sure they took her insurance and that she could get into the program. Then we talked through, ‘How do we tell mom?’” That type of support—personal, real, and unwavering—is at the heart of what makes Empower unique.
Calls between patients and peer specialists can range from 20 minutes to well over an hour. Sometimes, they extend even longer. But Empower is more than just a phone call—it’s a comprehensive digital tool that also provides 24/7 access to peer support for women in recovery through an app. The platform helps women navigate complex and sensitive health questions, especially around reproductive health and substance use. One of the most important questions peer specialists ask is: “Do you plan to become pregnant in the next year?” While it might seem clinical, it opens up space for vulnerable conversations that can lead to meaningful, preventative care.
“There’s shame and guilt that comes with using, whether you use one time during your pregnancy or use the whole pregnancy,” Truesdell said. “Sometimes you don’t want to talk to your provider or you need to build up that courage to have that conversation.” Having someone who understands—who’s been there—can make all the difference. This is why peer support for women in recovery is so vital, as it offers an empathetic and safe space for women to discuss their health and recovery journey.
The Importance of Integrated Care in Recovery
Shawna Zabkiewicz, program manager of Empower, emphasizes the need for integrated care that doesn’t treat behavioral and physical health as separate issues. “In SUD treatment, physical health issues are overlooked when the opportunity exists to address them, such as offering family planning services,” she said. “Care needs to be integrated and holistic in nature. Behavioral health does not exist in a silo.” This sentiment is echoed by Tiffany Inglis, national medical director for women and children’s health at Carelon, Elevance Health’s healthcare services arm. “People need to have resources and community at their fingertips,” she explained. “They need to be able to have that at their fingertips when they need it and how they need it because you don’t always have a crisis between nine and five, Monday through Friday.”
That’s exactly what Empower aims to provide: timely, accessible support that adapts to each woman’s needs. Whether it’s emotional support, clinical coordination, or connecting someone to family planning services, peer specialists guide women through what Inglis describes as a “choose-your-own-adventure” style of care. “Sometimes you need that peer recovery person. Sometimes you do need a nurse. Sometimes you need more help. Sometimes you need just that community and social support. We tried to find a program that we could develop that had all of it,” she added.
Reaching Thousands of Women in Recovery
The program currently operates in 13 states and has already made a profound impact. Nearly 6,000 women have engaged with Empower through initial phone calls, creating vital connections that often lead to clinical care and additional support. Peer support for women in recovery is an essential component of this success, helping women feel heard and validated as they take the next steps in their healing journey.
Women with SUD are often managing more than just addiction. Research shows higher rates of co-occurring mental health disorders among this population, including PTSD, mood disorders, and eating disorders. Many women are also survivors of trauma and abuse, making their recovery paths especially complex. Empower recognizes these challenges and works to address them through peer-led compassion, clinical resources, and accessible tools.
How Peer Support Helps in the Healing Journey
For Truesdell, her work is not only a profession but part of her own healing. “These members have these amazing stories to share with me that give me hope every single day in my own life and my own recovery,” she said. Her journey from addiction to advocacy is a testament to what’s possible when women are met with empathy, understanding, and meaningful support. Peer support for women in recovery has been a crucial part of her own transformation, and she now helps others discover the same hope and resilience.
Elevance Health’s Empower program is reshaping the landscape of women’s behavioral health care by centering real-life experience, digital accessibility, and integrated treatment. It proves that when women are given the tools, resources, and community they need—on their terms—healing becomes not only possible, but sustainable.
