For Brittany.
For every person still fighting.
January 3, 2020, changed my life forever. That was the day my sister, Brittany Thompson, lost her life after being struck in heavy traffic while under the influence of drugs. But Brittany was so much more than the circumstances of her death.
She was a mother of two. She was beautiful, intelligent, deeply loved, and worthy of a future filled with hope. She was my sister. She was someone’s mother, someone’s daughter, and a human being whose life mattered far beyond addiction.
Drug addiction may have contributed to Brittany’s death, but it will never define her life. Her memory lives in her children, our family, and everyone who knew the person behind the struggle.
The most painful part of losing Brittany is knowing that I never had the opportunity to say everything that was in my heart. At that time, I was also struggling with substance use. I loved my sister, but I was fighting a battle of my own. I did not yet know how to save her because I did not know how to save myself.
I cannot go back and change what happened. But I can decide what I will do with the life and recovery I have today.
I am now in recovery, and I am going strong for Brittany and for every person still fighting.
Every day I remain in recovery is a day I carry Brittany with me. Every person we encourage, every hand we reach for, and every life this organization helps protect becomes part of her continuing legacy.
Minnesota Sober Patrol was born from grief, love, recovery, and a promise: that people struggling with substance use and the families who love them should never have to feel abandoned or walk the road of recovery alone.
This nonprofit is dedicated to Brittany, to every life lost to substance use, to every family carrying an empty place at the table, and to every person still searching for the strength to choose another day.
What I could not change then, I will turn into purpose today. I will honor my sister by helping build a stronger recovery community, one person, one family, and one act of compassion at a time.
For Brittany. For every life lost.
For every person still fighting.
NO ONE WALKS ALONE.