Will is a person in long term recovery who hasn’t found it necessary to pick up a drink or a drug since February of 2006. Serving in the substance use disorder field since 2008, Will opened the first FARR accredited sober living program on the West Coast of Florida after gaining a bachelor’s degree in human services from Springfield College in 2012. In 2014 he co-founded the Recovery Epicenter Foundation (REF), a 501-c3 non-profit which would become the second ARCO recognized Recovery Community Organization (RCO) in the state of Florida by 2017. In 2021, Recovery Epicenter Foundation became the first RCO in the Suncoast region to receive SOR funding through our managing entity Central Florida Behavioral Health Network. Thanks to funding from CFBHN, REF has distributed over 5,000 doses of Narcan, connected with the personal recovery journeys of over 2,000 people, created and hosted numerous community connection events such as the Recovery Round Tables throughout Tampa Bay, and spearheaded the Saint Petersburg College Collegiate Recovery Program with on site peer support. This year, in 2023, through a generous grant from BayCare Hospital, REF opened the first peer support respite center in the Suncoast Region named the Catchers Mitt
A tireless advocate for the benefits of peer support services, William Atkinson is the Executive Director of Recovery Epicenter Foundation, in his role he has ushered in new services for our organization and the larger communities throughout the Tampa Bay region that we serve. Will is a Certified Recovery Support Specialist, Certified Recovery Residence Administrator, CCAR Recovery Coach trainee, as well as a long term board member of the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, and a member of the executive committee with the state wide RCO Floridians for Recovery.