Bridgeport, CT
July 2, 2022
10:00 AM
University of Bridgeport
John J Cox Student Center
126 Park Ave
Bridgeport, CT 06604
The Living Undeterred Tour is a nationwide exploration aimed at bring attention to the mental health and substance use epidemics in our nation.
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Keynote Speaker: Jeff Johnston
Better, Not Bitter: The Living Undeterred Mindset
On October 4, 2016, the trajectory of Jeff’s life changed with one phone call. Prior to that day, Jeff was living the American Dream. He had a great family, was a successful entrepreneur running a financial services firm in Iowa, and was seemingly coasting through life. The morning of October 4, 2016 Jeff received the phone call that is every parent’s worst nightmare. His oldest son, Seth, had died from fentanyl poisoning. He was 23 years old.
Jeff soon realized that he had two options. He could go down a road of anger and despair and become bitter, or he could use his situation as motivation to become better. And while it was not an easy journey, Jeff chose the road of better. Jeff's resiliency would again be tested in June 2021, when he lost his wife, Prudence, to alcoholism.
Jeff shares his experience through grief, addiction, and battling with his own mental health and the coping mechanisms he has developed to remain, undeterred.
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Our State Partner
The CCB is an independent, non-governmental, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that offers certification for addiction counselors, peer recovery specialists, clinical supervisors, and prevention professionals in Connecticut. The Board has also established a specialty certificate in problem gambling for professionals licensed and credentialed in other behavioral healthcare domains. The Board is active in a number of important state-wide workforce development initiatives, provides training/continuing education and ensures that the trainings provided in Connecticut by approved vendors meet established standards.
Since 1980, the CCB has served Connecticut by offering voluntary competency-based credentials to professionals with the main purpose of protecting those individuals receiving services. Later, in 1983, the CCB joined the Certification Reciprocity Consortium in order to support the development of public standards of competency and to provide counselors the opportunity to have reciprocity between member boards. We remain an active and influential member of the IC&RC.