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If you’ve ever worked in the field of recovery in East Tennessee, there’s a strong chance you’ve met Trent Coffey, executive director of the Schools Together Allowing No Drugs, or STAND, Coalition in Scott County, Tenn.

And if you're connected to Appalachia and use Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, there’s an equally strong chance you’ve encountered his cousin, Andi Marie Tillman. She's a comedian, actor and musician known for her wide array of relatable characters. 

As it happens, Andi Marie is a person in recovery and knows first-hand what it feels like to need help from the medical system in Tennessee—and how difficult it can be to get help.

In this special episode, we talk about Andi Marie’s recovery journey, Trent’s extensive career in drug prevention, the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia, how culture plays a role, opioid settlements, federal funding cuts and, as always, policies that might make this battle against addiction a little easier. We even dive into some Coffey family lore.

We also filmed this episode, and will release the video version on our soon-to-launch YouTube channel, so stay tuned for that release.

Finally, we decided to include some content that we normally wouldn’t. Consider it behind-the-scenes or bloopers. These two are just too funny to not share that with you—and plus, it shows the real Appalachia you don’t typically see on TV. As always, any views and opinions expressed in this episode do not reflect those of UT. 

Learn more: 

• STAND Coalition
• Andi Marie’s Instagram: @andimarietillman
• Andi Marie’s YouTube: @andimarietillman
• Scott County Opioid Abatement 

Original music by Blind House. Hosted and produced with additional scoring by Jeremy Kourvelas.