09/01/2026
YO YO! BIG O ASHLEY TOOK THE STAGE!
For International Overdose Awareness Day, Big O Ashley delivered a powerful message sponsored by the Escambia County Department of Health and hosted by Hope Above Fear.
And she didn't speak about addiction from a textbook.
She spoke from experience.
Today, Ashley Welborn is a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, our Director of Peer Education at Offentsive, an Advanced Level Facilitator with NAMI Emerald Coast, a WRAP facilitator, and a certified health and wellness coach.
But eight years ago, that life didn't seem possible.
Ashley shared a story that began long before substance use—with childhood trauma, abuse, instability, foster care, and a little girl searching for somewhere she belonged. Eventually, drugs became an escape from pain she had carried for years.
Addiction led her through domestic violence, homelessness, bathing in a pond, living in a shed without electricity or running water, and multiple overdoses.
During one of those overdoses, there was no naloxone. Nobody called 911. No ambulance came.
She survived.
And on April 4, 2018, Ashley entered treatment and began writing a different chapter.
But one of the most important things she shared was that getting clean didn't magically fix everything.
The drugs were gone. The trauma wasn't.
Recovery meant learning how to live again. How to trust. How to communicate. How to forgive. How to experience emotions without running from them.
Today, Ashley has become the person she desperately needed when she was struggling—and she spends her life walking alongside others who are still fighting.
Her message was simple and powerful:
“Addiction is rarely the beginning of someone's story.”
The people we've lost were more than their addiction. They were sons. Daughters. Parents. Friends. Dreamers.
And for the people who are still here:
As long as you are breathing, there is hope. Your story is not over.
Shoutout to Ashley for having the courage to turn lived experience into something that can light the way for somebody else. 🖤❤️
And thank you to the Escambia County Florida Department of Health (DOH) and Hope Above Fear for creating space for our community to remember those we've lost while fighting for those we can still reach.
May we never take another breath for granted.
