Finding the Light in the Forest
This month, we’re honored to shine our spotlight on Betty Murphy, BS, Health Educator and Certified Community Health Worker at the Central Connecticut Health District (CCHD) — and a true friend to TriCircle.
Betty’s connection to TriCircle began at a meeting focused on opioid-related services, where our own Ana Gopoian shared TriCircle’s mission and programs. When Ana mentioned that the Hope After Loss support group was searching for a new home in Rocky Hill, Betty didn’t hesitate. She offered CCHD’s Clinical Office as a meeting space — a private, peaceful setting where the group could continue to gather and support one another.
That single act of generosity speaks to who Betty is: someone who shows up, professionally and personally, for people navigating the hardest chapters of their lives. In her role at CCHD, Betty works alongside the family members, partners, and friends of those living with substance use disorder. She helps strengthen the county’s recovery coach model, walking beside loved ones as they learn to care for someone in active use or recovery — without losing themselves in the process. Her approach is steady and practical: education, encouragement, and real access to resources, offered with compassion.
Betty’s commitment isn’t only professional. As a loved one of someone affected by substance use disorder, she knows this path from the inside. She describes her journey with striking honesty and grace — a walk through a tree-lined forest, marked by pebbles that challenged her footing, roots that made her stumble, and craters she sometimes fell into. But always, in the distance, a stream of light. Sometimes it felt close. Sometimes it felt impossibly far. But it never disappeared — a steady reminder that hope, healing, and recovery are possible.
It’s fitting, then, that Betty is known to friends as “Steady Betty” — a nickname earned on two wheels. An avid cyclist, Betty finds in every ride a quiet reflection of life and recovery itself. Climbing a steep hill, she pushes the pedal one more stroke toward the crest. Flying downhill, at speeds that would make a mother cringe, she feels the exhilaration of trust and momentum. Every ride, she says, teaches her something about perseverance and resilience.
“Much like recovery and life itself,” Betty shared, “cycling is not about how fast you get there. It is about continuing forward, one pedal stroke at a time, even when the path is challenging.”
TriCircle is deeply grateful for partners like Betty — who open doors, hold space, and remind us all that hope is a light worth walking toward, no matter how long the path.
Thank you, Betty, for all you do for TriCircle and our community as a whole.
Together WE are Stronger!