White Horse Peer Recovery Coach Katy Whalen with her son
“It’s a very natural thing, when you’re in recovery, to want to help others,” said Whalen, who is over 13 years sober. “People in recovery have this deep empathy that gets suppressed during active addiction, and once you get some clean time, it comes back.”
For her, that path began at 11 years old. Looking up to an older cousin like a sister, she wanted to connect with her—and that cousin, alongside her own father, was using drugs. It was the height of the opioid epidemic, and Whalen started using OxyContin. The spiral was fast and unforgiving.
An honor-roll student and a talented softball pitcher who had earned a place at a private school for the sport, Whalen watched addiction take it all. She lost her spot at the school within months, was removed from her home at 14, and dropped out of high school. What began at age 11 became a 14-year battle.
By 25, after years of struggle—including a near-fatal overdose and the heartbreak of her parents taking guardianship of her first child—she reached a moment of clarity in a motel in Ossipee at her lowest point.
“I just didn’t want to do it anymore—it wasn’t fun anymore,” she recalled. “It wasn’t about the trouble or the consequences—I was just done. ”
She got sober that day. Now, with over 13 years in recovery, Whalen has built the life she once thought impossible with a home in Ossipee, regained custody of her oldest son, and a family of six children.
“I am very blessed,” she said. “This time around hasn’t been a struggle, because that switch in my brain actually flipped.”
That fascination with the “why” behind recovery drives her today. Whalen is captivated by the science of addiction and brain development. “It’s not about demographics,” she said, “addiction hits people across all groups without regard to socioeconomic characteristics; I think it’s a mix of the brain and the spirit.”
With roughly six years in the recovery field, including prior work at The Ridge in Milton and Green Mountain Treatment Center, she is completing her certification as a Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW) this summer and working toward LADC licensure. That licensure progress has delivered perhaps the most poignant full-circle moment of all. Whalen is earning her supervised hours under White Horse counselor Joni O’Brien, a member of New Hampshire’s Board of Licensing for Alcohol and Other Drug Use, who years ago served as her husband’s parole officer—and was a major catalyst in the couple getting clean together.
“Even if you’ve done hard things and made very serious missteps, you can still progress—personally and professionally,” she said. “That individual voice matters.”
Whalen also supports White Horse Recovery’s community programming, including the organization’s recurring Family Night, held every other Friday in Ossipee. She hopes it helps the surrounding community see the organization in a new light.
“I want people in the Lakes Region and beyond to know that White Horse is so much more than they might think it is,” she said. “I’d encourage people to come check it out and learn about the services we offer.”
“We are honored to welcome Katy to White Horse and grateful for what she adds to our team,” said White Horse Executive Director, Matthew Plache, “our work is about restoring lives and Katy, as much as anyone, understands what that’s all about.”
Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.