A great crowd was on hand for the Tearing Down the Walls of Stigma event on Tuesday, May 5, hosted by the Madison County Health Department. The event was previously scheduled for Azalea Park, but due to the weather, it was moved to the Teen Town Building.
Along with the crowd of over 50, ten tables lined either side of the audience with vendors from different support organizations such as Community Counseling Center, the Gipson Center, SEMO Behavioral Health, SEMO Community Treatment, Madison County Recovery Allies, Celebrate Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, Cap America, Veterans Crisis, and St. Francois County Community Partnership, who all work together to support anyone needing help.
Martha Senter, RN, BSN, with the Madison County Health Department, welcomed the crowd and explained the purpose of holding the event. She invited everyone to take a photo in front of the butterfly, which symbolizes metamorphosis, and explained that we are all always growing and going through metamorphosis.
The first speaker for the day was Jessica Gaines. Gaines is 39 years old and was born and raised in Madison County. She works at Madison County Recovery Allies as a Peer Support Specialist and is also a graduate of the Women’s Recovery House program. She shared her story with the crowd and said she had a few reasons to do so.
1) To give hope to anyone else who might still be struggling with addiction.
2) Revelation 12:11 – They overcame by the blood of the lamb and word of their testimony. She said that sharing her testimony will help her heal and, hopefully, help someone else.
3) She wants to help educate the community and do her part in breaking the stigma surrounding addiction. Stigma keeps people silent, ashamed, and from asking for help.
Gaines shared with the group about her life and how she followed a path down the road to addiction and eventually ended up in prison. “While sitting in jail, I didn’t want to change,” she said. “I didn’t think there was a need to. But I then realized I was done with the chaos, the abuse, and the destruction. So, for the first time in a long time, I chose to fight for my life.”
She then recognized some of the people in the room who supported her through her recovery journey. “My recovery is not just about staying sober. It’s about using my story to help others and change how people see addiction. Addiction does not discriminate. We are human beings who need support, compassion and understanding. Recovery is possible. I am living proof of that.”
The second speaker of the day was Sam Tinnin-Mangold, who is 48 and lives in Fredericktown. She is a local UPS driver. Tinnin-Mangold shared that she had been addicted to meth for 15 years and has now been sober for 15 years. As a young kid, she dreamed of becoming a rock-and-roll drummer, just like Tommy Lee. At 14, she got her first set of drums from her dad. However, life didn’t take her in that direction. At the age of 16, her parents divorced.
“During school, I was always being compared to my mother, who was the homecoming queen, the prom queen, the head cheerleader. I never measured up to her, and I had some of the same teachers that she had. I was barely able to graduate. I felt like I was behind before I ever got started.”
“I got drunk for the first time in the 4th grade at a Super Bowl party,” said Tinnin-Mangold. “An unattended keg = curious kids. I woke up hungover and then went to school. At age 17, I got a DWI.”
“I started using meth at the age of 19. I was a functioning addict.” Tinnin-Mangold continued sharing her story of years of addiction, toxic relationships, jail, and 18 months of drug court.
“My daughter Riley and I have been in some terrible situations, and it sickens me to think about it. But I did the best that I could.”
“People love to label you when you’ve been through addiction. People think they know your whole life story from its worst chapter. That stigma is real, and it keeps a lot of people stuck. But I’m standing here as proof that those labels aren’t permanent. We aren’t the worst things we’ve done. We are what we choose to do after that.”
“Today I get up early, go to work, and show up for my family. I am continually a work in progress.”
The third speaker of the day was Cheyenne Fuller, who works at Madison County Recovery Allies as a peer support specialist.
She shared that she started using substances at the age of 14, but addiction began before the drugs. Her family consisted of her mom, dad, and brother, and great memories were made growing up, including vacations and summers at the river. A typical American family.
“Growing up, alcohol was normalized,” said Fuller. “Meth and marijuana were in the home, but I didn’t know that until later.”
Her family split up and she went from her mom’s home to her dad’s home. “I tried so hard to prove myself to my dad. I tried to meet his expectations. I learned later it was never his expectations, but what I thought he wanted.”
Fuller said she felt like a failure.
“I went to rehab for the first time the fall of my junior year of high school,” said Fuller.
She said she was in and out of different rehab facilities in her teen years. She was released on her 18th birthday as she had aged out of that program. Addiction continued into her adult life, which led to arrests, homelessness, prostitution, and doing whatever was needed to get the next fix.
“I thought that social acceptability = personal recovery,” Fuller said; she thought that if she were living a lifestyle with all the material things, she would be accepted.
“I remember walking down the streets, praying to God that He would intervene and that I would go to jail. I knew I needed to be totally removed from my environment. I knew I couldn’t do it alone.”
“Soon after that, I was pulled over and taken to jail. I woke up the next day in jail on Mother’s Day, 2022. I finally felt that desperation. On June 14, 2022, I was released from the Jefferson County Jail and entered treatment. I first became willing to do whatever it took. Then I became open to the possibility that this thing might be for me. I then became honest with myself, my past, my mental health, my trauma, and the people around me.”
In November of 2025, Fuller accepted a position with Madison County Recovery Allies as a peer support specialist. In June of 2026, she will start school to further her career in psychology with a concentration in addiction studies.
“Overdose is a part of my story. I overdosed several times, but I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for Narcan. I am a huge advocate for Narcan. We can’t recover if we are dead. Recovery has given me everything that drugs promised.”
At the end of the event, a large paper painted to look like a brick wall was torn down by the three speakers, symbolizing the tearing down of the walls of stigma.
Martha Senter, organizer of the event, said the day was a huge success.