Brian Nuckols is a local coordinator for SMART Recovery who has been facilitating SMART Recovery meetings in Pittsburgh for over two years.
In 2018, Brian developed a partnership with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh West End Branch to help with the introduction of SMART Recovery into the community. Not only did he use the library as a meeting location, he also worked with the library to ensure that a diverse selection of recovery-themed books was available for loan, which benefited SMART Recovery members and the community at large.
After one year, there were two in-person meetings per week and less than two years later, Brian has grown SMART Recovery to four weekly meetings. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Brian led the effort to transition to online meetings, which actually increased participation in SMART Recovery and helped prevent isolation, anxiety, and other mental health problems.
Brian was nominated by members of the recovery community that he has helped build, who said, “Brian’s innovation and tech-savviness have helped ease the burden of mental health concerns in our community.”