CCC’s podcast, They Are Us: Breaking Through Stigma, continues to shed light on the realities of homelessness and substance use in Portland, featuring voices from people in recovery and frontline experts. Hosted by Juliana Lukasik, CCC’s Public Affairs Director, the series challenges stigma by sharing stories and professional insights on the complex paths to healing and stability.
As episodes air, they will be available on our Podcast page!
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Listen to Episode 5
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Episode 5 Summary
In this episode of They Are Us, host Juliana Lukasik speaks with Tina Bialas, Director of CCC’s Letty Owings Center. The Letty Owings Center is a residential treatment program for pregnant women and mothers with young children. Since 1989, it has offered a safe place where women can begin recovery while staying with their children.
The episode also features powerful audio reflections from several Letty moms. Their stories reveal the impact of addiction, trauma, and stigma, and show the strength it takes to rebuild. This conversation highlights how healing begins with stability, time, and the chance to parent while recovering.
Time, Safety, and Recovery
With over 30 years of experience in behavioral health, Tina shares what makes the Letty Owings Center so vital and unique. Women receive wraparound support in a structured, secure environment where they can stabilize, access mental and physical health care, attend therapy, and parent—all in one place.
Tina reflects on the barriers women face in accessing treatment and the courage it takes to begin healing. Many arrive carrying deep guilt, especially related to motherhood. At Letty, they are met with compassion and reminded that recovery is possible, one day at a time. She also shares stories of transformation, including a mother who arrived gravely ill and left thriving. Her story is just one example of the life-changing impact residential treatment can have.
The Voices of Letty Owings Moms
The women who share their stories in this episode offer unflinching honesty and inspiring resilience. One describes giving birth in a tent before finding refuge at Letty. Another talks about using fentanyl during pregnancy and the guilt she carried even as her newborn daughter began to thrive.
Across these stories, common themes emerge: the relief of being welcomed without judgment, the power of learning to parent with confidence, and the hope that comes from being believed in. Many moms express gratitude for the structure of the program, the support of staff who have walked similar paths, and the dignity they found in reclaiming their roles as mothers.
A Place for Us
This episode is a powerful reminder that recovery, especially for mothers, takes more than willpower. It requires safety, support, and time. The Letty Owings Center provides all three. It not only helps individual women recover, it helps families heal and rebuild. The stories shared here are a testament to what’s possible when we meet people where they are and walk beside them toward what’s next.
Listen to the fifth episode here and stay tuned for more honest stories and expert discussions that break stigma and foster understanding of homelessness and substance use disorders in our community.
