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The road to addiction recovery is never a straight path and no one understands that better than those who’ve walked it. Local resident Erika Hurt’s story made national headlines nearly a decade ago when she overdosed on heroin in a local business’ parking lot with her young son in the car.

Today, Hurt is not only thriving in her sobriety, but she’s making a positive impact in the lives of others while building the life she always wanted. 

Hurt didn’t come from addiction. Having grown up in a household with both parents and her siblings, the idea of drug addiction never crossed the mind of neither her nor her family.  

At around the age of 15, Hurt contracted staph infection. She was prescribed hydrocodone for the pain, she recalls.  

“I started taking that and got addicted,” she says. “That is where addiction entered my life.”

The rest of Hurt’s high school years were spent hanging around with others who were also addicted.

From there, “life kind of progressed in addiction,” she says.  

Hurt continued to use pain pills until the age of 20 when she was introduced to heroin. Then, she was introduced to the needle. It was also during that time that meth entered Hurt’s life, as well.

“If I could get it, I would do it,” Hurt says. “During that time span, there was quite a bit of illegal activity [going on] to support my addiction.”

As her life continued to spiral and the charges piled up, Hurt found herself in and out of jail. As soon as she would be released, she’d go right back to the streets to use again.  

At one point, after being in jail for eight months, Hurt began to experience the stirrings of an awakening.

“At that time, I started wanting to be sober,” she says. “I got out and was doing classes and during that time I got pregnant with my son, Parker.”

That was in 2015.

Hurt continued her sobriety. While under the supervision of Community Corrections, and following the stipulations she had to follow, Hurt got pregnant and was able to stay sober throughout her pregnancy.

Two months after giving birth to Parker, Hurt relapsed.  

It wasn’t anything specific that triggered the relapse. Hurt admits, at the time, deep down she didn’t want to be sober. Not truly.

“I had reservations to use again one day,” she says. “I still believed I could handle my addiction, go out, get high and not suffer any repercussions for that.”

For the next six months the new mom was again fully immersed in the lifestyle.

Hurt was still on probation, but wasn’t being drug tested.  

It wasn’t long before she was dope sick and with no money to get anything to make herself not sick.

Hurt checked herself into rehab even though she didn’t have the urge to get sober, it was an act of necessity. It was an emergency situation, she says.

“At that point, it was my only option to get myself feeling better,” Hurt says.

Without telling her probation officer, Hurt left her son with her mother, Jami, and went to Florida where she checked into rehab. That was in August 2016.

Hurt completed the 30-day rehabilitation program and flew back home. But she was taking none of it seriously, she admits.

Her sobriety would last two weeks.

Her next relapse would make national news.

While staying in Hope at the time, Hurt picked her son up from his father’s house and was headed home. Her mother had plans to take Parker to a birthday party and Hurt was taking him home to get him ready.    

Hurt had bought some heroin the day before and had relapsed again using half the night before.

She used the remaining half in the Dollar General parking lot in Hope and overdosed losing consciousness necessitating the use of Narcan to revive her.

“That day in Hope, that I relapsed and overdosed, that was the last day I used,” Hurt says.

After she was released from the hospital following the overdose, Hurt returned to jail and remained there a couple of months until her trial.   

While incarcerated, Hurt entered the Women Recovering with a Purpose (WRAP) program. The six- month program was a Godsend.

“It was a wonderful program that truly helped me to recover,” Hurt says. “I was there for six months and my son and family would come to visit.”

Visits were not easy. Parker, still very young, wouldn’t sit on his mother’s lap or interact with her. She’d missed important milestones in his young life and, understandably, he was unsure. He didn’t know her.

“It was those moments where I was like, ‘I’m done with this. I don’t want my son to live this life or don’t know who I am because of the choices I’ve made,’” she recalls.

After her release, Hurt was committed to another six months of aftercare, probation and house arrest. Once the six months was finished Hurt was released onto two more years of monitored probation with monthly check-ins.

During that time, Hurt was leading recovery groups and meetings in Columbus at the Community Church of Columbus. She also returned to lead WRAP meetings with the women who were in the program.

The years that followed were filled with meetings, including multiple meetings each week.

Today, she’s stepped back from being so active with meetings as a new chapter in her life has blossomed.

The 31-year-old resides with her son, boyfriend, Jarrod and his daughter, Hailey. Admittedly, she has flourished in the mundanity of everyday life working, spending quality time with family and investing in the life she and Jarrod are building.

The couple met three years ago as Hurt was beginning to step back from taking on so many meetings and had entered into full mom mode, she says.

“Even though I was sober, my meetings and work were taking a lot of time away from my son,” she says. “At that point, I decided I wanted to step back and – I know it sounds crazy to normal people – but I just wanted to be a mom. I wanted to cook, clean and live that normal life with them.”

Hurt says the greatest lesson she’s taken away from her experience with addiction and its aftermath is the importance and impact of being positive.

“All I can think about right now is being positive and having a positive outlook,” Hurt says. “A lot of people who I run into talk about how they see me and don’t think that I ever get down or depressed. I think it is because of the life I lived, I was down and depressed and I know I don’t have to be there anymore. Having a positive outlook helps me get through the day.”

Cleaning house is one way Hurt says she manages her anxiety these days. She admits she loves to keep a clean house and do yardwork. She is very proud of the home she and Jarrod recently purchased.

“I love taking care of it,” she says. “I am so proud of it. Everything I put into this house I feel like is just a projection of what I’ve put into my life, as well.”

Family also plays an instrumental role in keeping Hurt grounded, she says. And, of course, faith.

“Definitely, faith has played a role,” she says. “Without God, nothing in my life has been or is possible. I have solely relied on my family to help me through.”

Hurt doubts she would do anything differently if given the opportunity. Given all the ups and downs, the only thing she would change is her son having to be a victim of it, she says.

Now a college student working toward a degree in supply chain management, Hurt has big plans for the future.

“Within five years I hope to be in some sort of purchasing position,” she says. “I work closely with supply chain management now and it is definitely what I see myself doing in the future.”

Although her involvement in recovery meetings has waned, she is still adamant that she is willing to help others. Even possibly taking on another role in the recovery community, she says.

“Since I’ve stepped back, I am willing to help anyone if they need it,” she says. “I am willing to take classes if I need to – anything I need to help the recovery community I’m willing to do so. For now, I love how my life has turned out. I like my position in recovery and in normal life.”