Mary Kay Riendeau began to use marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes at only 12 after surviving several instances of sexual violence. Resources were not abundant in the 1970s, and Riendeau’s trauma response dangerously spiraled into substance abuse that lasted 23 years.

Since she set out on the path to recovery in 1999, Riendeau has refused to let the pain of her past define her future. Today, as the department head of addiction studies at Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range, she is helping widen access to addiction counseling services in rural areas across the state.

“You know why people use?” said Riendeau., “The pain of life.”

She says expanding access to addiction counseling will help people get the support they need.

According to a 2024 Minnesota Department of Health report, residents of rural areas seeking mental health and chemical dependency treatment typically travel over three times longer to access care compared with urban patients. The same report shows that of the 4,156 alcohol and drug counselors across the state, only 4% work in isolated rural areas. Only 6% work in small towns.

Such disparities contribute to health inequity.

Faced with declining health and a looming prison sentence, Riendeau made the tough decision to stop using and turn her life around 26 years ago. She wanted to show up better as a mother, but also as the individual she knew she was under the shadow of her addiction. So, she enrolled in college.

Mary Kay Riendeau, far left, works with students enrolled in the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor program at Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range. (Yasmin Yassin)

“I’m 61 years old,” she explained. “Am I going to let sexual violence ruin the rest of my life? There had to be a time in there where I made a decision.”

Her college, Minnesota North College, Mesabi Range, is home to an expansive Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor program (LADC), which was established in the 1990s. The program aims to effectively train students to enter the addiction-recovery field throughout the state by Zoom to remove the barriers that prevent many from completing their education. Rural areas such as the Mesabi Range have always faced great challenges with distance, affordability, and accessibility to addiction counseling.

Minnesota North College’s program addresses the shortage of addiction counselors in the area by integrating a real-world problem-solving curriculum into the classroom. Riendeau was a 2001 graduate of the program and started teaching in the program in 2004. In 2007, her mentor retired, and she has been the department head since then. There were only nine in the program that year. Even with the impacts that it was making, this shortage persisted in her community, so she sought out to expand existing initiatives.

Riendeau worked as a full-time, in-person LADC instructor at her alma mater for three years until she began to broaden the program’s efforts by using technology. In 2010 she launched free Zoom panels, accessible to people across the state. From Grand Portage to the Iron Range she says these “Zoom rooms” have allowed the program to reach thousands who have been touched by addiction.

This is “a way of putting people together in a community of recovery,” she said. Healed communities “can excel and do things which expands the empowerment of people.”

Riendeau has seen more and more students engage with the LADC program during her time as an instructor. The program’s instructors currently oversee the education of over 85 students. Thousands more have been licensed and are now active in the field of addiction work since her early beginnings.

Angela Tomassoni, left, Indigenous grant assistant at Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range, and Mary Kay Riendeau, department head of addiction studies at Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range, work to widen access to addiction counseling in rural Minnesota. (Brian Wiedeke)

Graduate Angela Tomassoni, who has faced addiction in the past, “gets goosebumps,” when reflecting on the program’s impact. She said it has transformed and saved countless people –  including her. She now serves as the program’s Indigenous grant coordinator, and helps to oversee some of the millions of grant dollars that the program receives.

“These degrees and this experience was something that nobody could take away from me,” Tomassoni said. “Giving back and staying busy is a huge thing.”

Riendeau never anticipated her efforts reaching so far, but is grateful. After all, her main purpose in everything she has set out on has been to touch lives. Funding cuts threaten access to addiction services in rural communities, but Riendeau says her commitment is unwavering.

“We’re at a different time politically. But does it affect us? I’m not going to let it,” she said. “As long as we’re still there, there is still a voice fighting for addicts.”

Additional reporting by Legend Primus (Roseville High School) and Amelia Mohamud (Delano High School) 

About this report

This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing. ThreeSixty Journalism is a multimedia storytelling program for Minnesota youth. Grounded in the principles of journalism and focused on contributing to more accurate narratives and representative newsrooms, ThreeSixty offers technical, ethical, and entrepreneurial training for fulfilling careers in storytelling and civic leadership. It has been housed at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas since 2001.

“I’m a hope dealer, not a dope dealer.” That is Nation Wright’s motto today.

Growing up in the Minneapolis American Indian community, Wright saw firsthand how addiction affected his people. Now, as the chief operating officer for the American Indian Community Development Corporation (AICDC), Wright is concerned about the recent trends.

“Things have gotten dramatically worse,” he said. “The average age of addiction is getting younger and younger. … these are babies, essentially, that are out here struggling.”

Native Americans are disproportionately affected by addiction. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, they are seven times as likely to overdose as white Minnesotans.

“They feel like they’re stuck in this state of hopelessness,” said Wright.

He says community outreach is one way to combat that hopelessness and get people the resources they need. The AICDC, a housing organization, attempts to reach community members experiencing active addiction.

“You keep showing up, you keep showing them that you care and what it does is it builds relationship(s)… it builds trust,” he said.

Resistance is common, but that doesn’t stop Wright and his team from continuing to reach out to people with help. “I might have had 100 contacts with you before you say yes, but that’s the thing, though, it’s consistency,” he said.

The struggles in his community have to do with generational trauma.

Native Americans have been stripped from their culture, language and traditions. Their children were sent to boarding schools. They’ve suffered colonialism and colonization.

“That lasts and that’s generational,” said Wright.

Treating addiction in his community requires an understanding of what his people have been through.

“There is also a lot of judgment in this world and there’s a lot of hate and a lot of not taking the time to understand and to listen and to be fully educated about a situation, people, and about a community,” he said.

Wright said that many of the youth in the Little Earth East Phillips community in South Minneapolis have never been outside of that bubble.

“That’s the only place they know. And if we start to see the world and what the world has to offer for us, we can start to create some different pathways to success,” he said.

He aims to be a positive voice for his people, and to show love when needed. Most importantly, he seeks to hold his friends, brothers, sisters and family accountable.

But with limited resources in Native American communities, change can feel far off.

“How can we expect people to change? … generation to generation of no change, no resources, no support within their immediate environments because everyone else is in the same struggle,” Wright said.

Mental health also plays a part in addiction that co-occurs.

For his people to move forward, Wright says, it’s important to “raise the bar” and not to normalize addiction and struggle.

The AICDC helps individuals move forward with culturally grounded care that brings together traditional and western treatment support.

They have several buildings with different support functions. Their housing facilities are almost always at capacity.

At their homeless shelter, individuals are able to receive a warm meal and take a shower. Participants are also able to connect with counseling, therapy or any of the other services the AICDC has to offer. There is a wet house where participants are allowed to drink on site.

“It’s a harm-reduction model; they’re limited to what they can bring in… it’s a way to get people housed,” Wright said.

Work is important to Wright but working in a high-stress environment also takes a toll. He uses cultural practices like Native drumming as a way to cope and is working to prioritize his well-being so he can be more present for his two children and become a better person for his people.

“This is the community that I’m raising my kids in and the community I want to see thrive and really do better,” he said.

Additional reporting by Maria Hernandez-Silva (Venture Academy) and King Primus (Roseville High School).

About this report

This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing. ThreeSixty Journalism is a multimedia storytelling program for Minnesota youth. Grounded in the principles of journalism and focused on contributing to more accurate narratives and representative newsrooms, ThreeSixty offers technical, ethical, and entrepreneurial training for fulfilling careers in storytelling and civic leadership. It has been housed at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas since 2001.

Lucy Getschow knew if she didn’t get help soon, she would end up dead.

Drugs and alcohol had taken over her life. She had quit soccer. Stopped trying in school. She realized she was at her breaking point. Lucy felt terrified to vocalize her struggle, because there was no one there to push her forward. She had to face it all alone.

Lucy grew up in South Minneapolis. She started using marijuana at 11 and then moved on to alcohol and opiates, which quickly became an addiction. She felt isolated in her experiences. At the age of 16, she opened up to her sister about her struggles. Lucy was then enrolled into Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s inpatient program. It wasn’t until she met the other girls in the program that she found connection and community.

Many youth have experiences similar to Lucy’s.

8.15% of Minnesota teens use drugs and 10.87% of them drink alcohol, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS).

Ken Winters, a researcher of adolescent health and cannabis use at the University of Minnesota, says there are two main reasons youth are so susceptible to addiction.

Drugs are popular in our culture. Youth follow the norms that they see in their culture and the behavior of the adults around them.

Biology also plays a role in addiction. Young people are more vulnerable to the addictive effects of drugs than adults, and the way the brain is maturing and developing can contribute to it.

“Young people, even though it’s illegal and (they) may not have a lot of money to buy drugs, it’s easier to go down an addiction path than adults,” he said.

The NCDAS reports that over 3% of all 12-17 year olds in Minnesota meet the criteria for illicit drug-use disorder. Because of the amount of youth addiction, there is an overwhelming need for recovery facilities that offer treatment. Inpatient programs are an important part of recovery for many; they provide a place where those with a drug use disorder can stay and receive 24-hour treatment, often for a month.

“The inpatient or residential environment can really be quite important for a young person, because it helps structure the recovery process,” said Winters.
Health professionals, like Winters, say that there is a need for more inpatient facilities available to youth.

“On average, they say only 10%, maybe 15% of young people that need treatment services for a substance-use problem receive it,” said Winters.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation helps fill that need in Minnesota. The organization works to supply more opportunities for recovery from substance-use disorders and related mental health conditions. Their youth residential program serves people ages 12-25 at one location in Plymouth.

“Because there are national gaps,” said Emily Piper, chief legal and administrative officer at Hazelden Betty Ford, “people fly their kids in from all over the country to receive treatment and access to health care.”

Lucy was one of the young people who received treatment through this program, and she says it is one of the reasons she is alive today.

“I definitely appreciated the program, but I was really angry at first, and I didn’t want to engage,” said Lucy, “I wasn’t used to being held accountable and being told I was doing something wrong and that I needed to clean up my actions.”

There are many other things that contributed to Lucy’s recovery, including the sober high school she attended and her sister’s support. Today she is two and a half years sober.

Emily Piper, chief legal and administrative officer, in the library at Hazelden Betty Ford in St. Paul. Piper has worked at the foundation for six years. (Pechulano Ngwe Ali)

Hazelden Betty Ford aims to become more accessible to those who cannot access treatment due to cost and coverage barriers through their advocacy work, says Piper. They also engage in education and prevention work in schools and communities in an effort to limit the number of youth who develop addiction.

Parents shape the attitudes and values of their children, says Winters. When parents and communities are educated on these topics they have the ability to support their youth when they are in need.

“(Parents and communities are) an important source of corralling… and bringing favor to pro-healthy and drug-free attitudes,” said Winters.

Youth access to drugs can also be limited by laws and compliance checks, like ensuring drug stores are following drug age regulations, says Winter.

Lucy, now 19, has found a supportive community in her recovery. She is heading into her second year of college at St. Catherine University. She is studying to become a nurse, a profession she chose because of the experiences she has had throughout her recovery.

“I definitely have thought about (how) my life isn’t linear and my recovery isn’t linear, and that’s okay that I’m not like everyone else,” she said.

Additional reporting by Naomi Miller (Richfield High School) and Kamrin Scott (graduate of Two Rivers High School) 

About this report

This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing. ThreeSixty Journalism is a multimedia storytelling program for Minnesota youth. Grounded in the principles of journalism and focused on contributing to more accurate narratives and representative newsrooms, ThreeSixty offers technical, ethical, and entrepreneurial training for fulfilling careers in storytelling and civic leadership. It has been housed at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas since 2001.

Darnell Cox started using marijuana and alcohol around the age of 12. By 20 he had been introduced to hard drugs. His uncle had been released from prison, and Cox started spending time with him and his friends. That’s how he became addicted to methamphetamine.

Cox is one of many Americans whose entire family systems are affected by substance-use disorder. About 1 in 4 U.S. children lived with at least one parent or caretaker with substance-use disorder in 2023, according to research from the National Institute of Health.

In 2020, Cox had found recovery, but it was fragile. He was two years sober, working for the first time in construction. He and his family had created distance from unhealthy people and behaviors.

Darnell Cox, pictured here in high school, began using drugs at age 12. After struggling with addiction for years, he has found belonging and community to be key to his recovery. (Photo courtesy Darnell Cox)

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It was an isolating time for everyone, and substance-use disorders surged. Cox started using again and quickly spiraled.

“I was living in my car, fully prepared to go back to prison when they caught me using meth again,” he said. “I couldn’t stop until I was in jail. When I was in jail, I was away from it, I could come down. That’s how jails and prisons almost became a reset for me.”

When he was caught, the judge gave him another shot, and that’s when he found Minnesota Recovery Connection. Now, he is the director of operations there.

The key to his recovery? “The difference between this time and the last is actually finding that connection and finding that place where I belong,” he said.

Doing things differently got Cox out of the cycle. He learned new hobbies during his time in prison. He learned how to crochet so he could make things for his kids. He now regularly enjoys crocheting and even has a TikTok page at @yarnellcrochet showcasing his art. He also replaced his criminal habits with a health and fitness routine. He goes to the gym daily and plays basketball with a group weekly.

“I reset many times; the big part of it was I never realized, until the last time, that after I reset I needed to do something different,” he said.

People recovering from addiction need support and community as they walk their roads to healing.

A student, M, who requested anonymity because of the stigma surrounding substance-use disorder, struggled with addiction at his large suburban high school in Plymouth.

Vaping was his gateway to addiction. He was 13 and influenced by peers at his high school. It escalated from there. M struggled for years and was not able to find the support he needed within the school’s community.

“There was no real safe space, because I felt whatever I told them they were going to tell other people. It was hard to quit when all they would do is take you to the office and get you in trouble and make you do some program, but that’s not really helping students,” he said.

M eventually left his high school for a private Christian alternative. He originally had no intentions of turning his life around, but his new environment influenced him to stop using substances and engage in more productive behavior.

“Just the conversations and experiences I had in my private school really changed the way I was viewing the things I did. I felt I could have real talks with the teachers and not be judged, because they weren’t perfect people either, but they made me feel seen,” he said.

Chemical health and recovery specialists are important leaders to have in schools today, says Cynthia Munguia, executive director for Minnesota Recovery Connection. Munguia and M agree: they positively affect the community to be a more safe and accepting place, so students have someone that they can speak to without fear of getting in trouble.

“Absolutely develop support programs for students, collegiate programs for substance-use disorders or recovery-oriented programs providing understanding and education,” said Munguia.

“I think (schools) should lead with programs; you keep taking away a kid’s vape then he’s just going to get a new one. Actually tackle the issue; they can actually give kids the help they need to quit,” said M. He stressed the importance of focusing on why young people are using.

Cox, Munguia, and M agree that a strong, supportive community is essential to a successful recovery. It can affect whether an individual starts using substances and it can affect whether they are able to stop and sustain recovery.

Munguia wants struggling young people – like a younger M or Cox – to know that help is available.

“I would really love our young generation to know that they’re not alone,” she said. “They’re not the first ones or the last. It’s wonderful to be able to reach out to someone, especially when you’re feeling alone, that you know there’s one person who can listen to your story and help you.”

Additional reporting by Smit Bhardwaj and Alaia Scroggins (Wayzata High School) 

About this report

This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing. ThreeSixty Journalism is a multimedia storytelling program for Minnesota youth. Grounded in the principles of journalism and focused on contributing to more accurate narratives and representative newsrooms, ThreeSixty offers technical, ethical, and entrepreneurial training for fulfilling careers in storytelling and civic leadership. It has been housed at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas since 2001.