Since 1999, Stephanie Almeida has devoted her adult life to supporting individuals and families affected by substance use. As a person affected by the war on drugs, Stephanie is a dedicated harm reductionist who meets people where they are at, regardless of their stage of readiness to change. She is credentialed as a NC Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC) and Prevention Consultant (CSAPC). Through her clinical knowledge and experience, Stephanie brings a unique perspective to her work by bridging the gap between substance use, harm reduction, prevention, treatment, recovery and HIV/HCV related issues.
Stephanie is the owner of Full Circle Recovery Center in Franklin, NC and is the Harm Reduction Coordinator for Western NC AIDS Project (WNCAP). In 2015, Full Circle was awarded 1 of the 18 HRSA Rural Opioid Overdose Reversal grants. She currently manages the WNCAP Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin and their new exchange co-located at Meridian Behavioral Health in Jackson County, funded through a partnership with the Macon County Health Department under the NC DHHS Emergency Overdose: Opioid Crisis grant as well as the WNC Harm Reduction Alliance, a 7-county substance use consortium focused on prevention, treatment and recovery funded under a HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Planning grant.
Her motto of ‘holding onto hope until the last breath is drawn’ is dedicated to her brother Michael Roe O’Donnell Jr. who lost his life fighting to stop his emotional pain from being abused by a relative as a child.