Dawn Hensley Earns Her CPRS Certification — A Journey From Recovery to Calling

Voices of Hope Maryland is proud to celebrate a major milestone for one of our own: Dawn Hensley has officially earned her Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) certification.

This isn’t just a credential—this is lived experience turned into purpose. It’s proof that healing can become leadership, and that the hardest chapters can turn into the very thing that helps somebody else survive theirs.

A Step-by-Step Journey Built on Growth

Dawn’s path to becoming a CPRS wasn’t some overnight glow-up. It was built in stages—real ones. The kind you can’t fake. The kind you earn.

In the beginning, Dawn was focused on showing up for her own recovery—learning healthier habits, staying honest about struggles, and doing the uncomfortable work that real change requires. Those early days grounded her and helped her understand what transformation truly looks like.

As her recovery became more stable, something shifted. Dawn started looking outward and noticing the people around her—people carrying the same fear, shame, and uncertainty she once carried. That awareness lit a fire: a desire to give back and to remind others that recovery isn’t just possible… it’s worth fighting for.

She began volunteering, stayed consistent in meetings, and listened to people’s stories with deeper intention—realizing how much she valued being a steady support for others.

When Training Meets Compassion

When Dawn entered the CPRS training process, it felt like everything she had lived and learned finally connected.

The classes didn’t change who she was—they strengthened who she already was.

They gave her the tools, language, and structure to match the compassion she already carried. It wasn’t always easy, but each step confirmed she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

And when Dawn completed her hours and earned her CPRS certification, she wasn’t just checking off a goal—she was stepping fully into something that had been growing inside her since the moment she chose recovery.

Dawn’s Words, Straight From the Heart

Dawn shared a quote that captures the power of her journey and the faith that carried her through:

“I once felt like I was drowning in the life I created, too weak to lift my own head. But God grew strength in the very places I broke, and now I water others from the well He restored in me.”

That’s the heartbeat of peer work right there: pain transformed into purpose—and compassion that comes from a place you can’t teach in a textbook.

Congratulations, Dawn!

Dawn, we see you. We respect the work you put in. And we’re grateful for the heart you bring to this field.

Your certification is a celebration—but even more than that, it’s a reminder to everyone watching that recovery can turn into leadership, and that your story can become someone else’s survival guide.

From all of us at Voices of Hope Maryland: Congratulations, CPRS Dawn Hensley. We’re proud of you—today and always.

Want to learn more about our CPRS training program or peer support services?
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