ABOUT US

Our Story

Why We’re Not Like Any Other Treatment Center:

Most treatment centers are founded as businesses. Ours was born out of calling.

TrueFreedom Recovery Center and Restoring Freedom were founded by three women who each carry a deeply personal connection to substance abuse, not from textbooks, but from life. We have lost people. We have loved people through addiction. We have walked families through devastation. And we answered that pain with purpose.

This isn’t a corporate venture. This is personal.

Where It Started:

Before there was a facility, before there were staff, before there were ASAM levels and Medicaid contracts, there was a burden.

A burden to do treatment differently.

Dr. Crystal Younger (Clinical Director), along with two other founding women, each came into this work through lived experience and professional training. Our connection was not random, it was rooted in shared conviction:

• Addiction destroys families.
• Traditional systems often miss the whole person.
• Recovery must address mind, body, spirit, trauma, attachment, and purpose.
• And people deserve dignity, not shame.

From that shared foundation, this organization was built.

My Background & Why This Matters:

As a clinician and leader, I have worked extensively in mental health and substance abuse treatment. I have seen what works, and what fails people.

I have sat with:

• Mothers who lost children
• Children who lost parents
• Individuals who relapsed because no one addressed their trauma
• Clients who were treated like numbers instead of human beings

That’s why our model is different.

We don’t just stabilize addiction.

We rebuild lives.

What Makes Us Different:

1. Female-Owned & Mission-Driven

We are owned by three women who lead from compassion and accountability. Our leadership is hands-on.

We are present. We are involved. We care deeply.

This is not passive ownership.
This is leadership in the trenches.

2. Holistic, Whole-Person Treatment

We believe addiction is not just chemical dependency. It is:

• Trauma
• Attachment wounds
• Grief
• Shame
• Mental health instability
• Spiritual disconnection
• Lack of purpose
• Environmental instability

So we treat all of it.

Our services integrate:

• ASAM-aligned care
• Trauma-informed therapy
• Attachment-based work
• DBT and CBT skill building
• Case management (housing, employment, legal)
• Spiritual support (for those who desire it)
• Community integration
• Sober living partnerships
• Long-term recovery planning

We don’t discharge people into a void.

We build a continuum of care.

3. We Address the Environment

Many facilities treat addiction and send clients back to the same chaos.

We understand that recovery fails without structure.

That’s why we:
• Partner with sober living homes
• Coordinate transportation
• Work with courts and judges
• Connect clients to employment
• Assist with Medicaid and medical needs
• Advocate when families cannot

Recovery requires stability. We help build it.

4. We Believe Recovery Is a Calling, Not a Transaction

For us, this is ministry-level work, even within clinical professionalism.

We believe:

• People are not their worst decisions.
• Addiction is not a moral failure.
• Families deserve restoration.
• Healing is possible.
• Recovery can be transformational.

We hold clients accountable, but we never strip them of dignity.

Why We’re Special:

We are special because:
• We are personally invested.
• We are clinically competent.
• We are spiritually grounded.
• We are operationally strategic.
• We are deeply present.

We combine heart + structure.
Compassion + accountability.
Faith + evidence-based practice.
Business strategy + calling.

That combination is rare.

Our Belief:

We believe that:

Recovery is not just sobriety. It is:
• Stability
• Identity restoration
• Healthy attachment
• Purpose
• Financial independence
• Community
• Hope

And we build our programs around that belief.

Our Leadership

Meet Dr. Younger. She has worked in the field of rehabilitation counseling for over 36 years. She holds multiple licenses and certifications in the field of counseling as well as her license as an addiction counselor and clinical supervisor. As the clinical director of TrueFreedom Recovery Center she is involved in the day to day operation of the clinic. She calls it a pleasure to work hands on with our clients and staff on a regular basis. She feels that her lifelong history both professionally and personally has led her to this point in her career. Her desire is to see lives changed and families put back together. She believes that her job is to assure that each and every individual who enters treatment at the facility receive quality, professional and comprehensive services to treat the disease of addiction. On a personal note, she is an animal lover, a wife of 36 years, mother of 3 adult children and her favorite roll is that of Cookie, the name her 3 beloved grandchildren call her.

Meet Amanda Warner. Amanda partnered with Melissa to put her vision to life. Amanda is a successful business owner and understood the nuts and bolts of creating a company that provided specific services to public entities. Without her expertise, TrueFreedom Recovery Center would just be a vision. Amanda brought her experience and financial backing to make things happen. Amanda pulled the initial team together with each bringing experience in their respective areas to create a treatment center that would change lives. She is still working daily to make sure that the company is meeting all the federal, state and local requirements to do business in the healthcare environment, which is a large feat. Amanda is also the leader of Rise Up, which is a ministry for the recovering community. She tirelessly spends her time running two companies, leading Rise Up and helping clients and employees whenever she can. Her efforts to help those who are suffering is to be admired. On a personal note, she is a wife of 24 years and a mother of 3 beautiful daughters. Thank you Amanda, only heaven sees the true impact your hard work is making.

Meet Melissa Messina. Melissa is the visionary behind TrueFreedom Recovery Center. Without her vision Freedom House and TrueFreedom Recovery would not exist. Melissa knows firsthand the devastation of addiction. It was during her time in recovery that she decided to open a sober living house. As she started opening more houses, she noticed that her residents were relapsing and needed more to remain sober. It was through this experience she decided to partner with others and start TrueFreedom Recovery Center. She knew her residents needed more treatment to reduce relapse and she wanted to provide it to them. She also received her certification as a counselor in training during that time because vision was not enough, she wanted to be in the trenches with the clients. Her desire was to offer quality intensive outpatient treatment with the goal of clients obtaining and maintaining long term recovery. She is meeting that goal! If you ask Melissa if she had the opportunity to change her past regarding addiction would she do it, she will tell you a flat no. She states that without her past, she would not have her present and her present is loving and caring for those at their lowest point in life. Thank you, Melissa, for your vision and love for this hurting population. You are making a difference!