Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Center, located in Macon, Georgia is a sprawling, state-of-the-art facility, that caters to the needs of its community. With nearly 26,000 sq ft. of space, this community center will focus on the needs of our community in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, job placement and training, recreation, and much more. This is the recovery center Macon has been waiting for, and now it’s here.

Any community center aimed at lifting the citizens within its walls is significant. However, at Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Center, we believe our location is extra special. Nestled in the Pleasant Hills Community, with a population of nearly 2,000, this neighborhood was initially built by African Americans in the late 19th century as a place to grow, thrive, and work for middle class blacks. Though the community has changed over time, witnessing increased violence, criminal activity, and the like; we still believe it is a treasure- a diamond in the rough. Expenses in Pleasant Hill are lower than the national average. While most people rent their homes (68%) and those holding a bachelor’s degree or higher is low (2%), we believe the potential in this neighborhood is limitless. The median age being 31, means we have so much work that can be done to impact and shift the next generation!

While we look ahead to bring lasting impact and hope to the future of this community, we thank those from the past who saw a need for progressive change. Those people include but are not limited to:

Our grounds are well maintained and our exterior features a warm, inviting, spacious, colonial style facility, but our interior is just as warm and inviting. Upon entering our building, individuals and families will be welcomed by friendly volunteers and staff.

The barber shop will feature a clean, updated space, with quality tools and products, that will allow individuals to be serviced but also have the opportunity to serve. Our program participants will have the opportunity to learn the skillset necessary for Georgia State licensure and the necessary components for launching a business of their own. Our barbershop will also feature classes and demonstrations by professionals, on the latest haircuts, techniques, and products. Those recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges will receive a second chance at life, being able to learn skills to help them regain independence.

A feminine, yet professional atmosphere with high-quality beauty products will be featured in our on-site beauty salon. Participants in the program and outside community members can enjoy having their hair styled and maintained in a warm and friendly environment. Our program participants; particularly those overcoming mental health and/or substance abuse challenges, will also have the opportunity to learn the skillset necessary for Georgia State licensure and the necessary components for launching a business of their own. Our beauty salon will also feature classes and demonstrations by professionals, on the latest hair styles, color and cutting techniques, and hair care products, and more.

In an effort to cater to the total person, individuals can receive professional nail services in a clean, sanitized, professional environment. Our nail techs are individuals licensed in this area and have the ability to provide top-notch work, while also training interested program participants in who are looking to enter the field. Our nail salon will also feature classes and demonstrations by professionals, on the latest nail and cuticle products, nail designs, on-trend colors, nail design techniques, and products. We believe that creativity lies in every individual. Those who have been hindered by mental health obstacles and substance abuse often don’t have a chance to bring their creativity to the surface. Working with licensed, local nail technicians will give them that opportunity.

An oasis right on the grounds of our facility, community members and program participants can step away from the hustle and bustle of the day and enter a peaceful environment. Featuring quality body oils, professional skin care treatments and massages, our licensed masseuses, will ensure individuals receive an unforgettable spa experience. Our program participants will have opportunities to experience hands-on learning, as licensed massage therapists provide classes and tutorials on the latest in body care and massage therapy. Not only will those in our program who are recovering have a chance to be pampered, they can also learn a unique skills set that will help them be competitive in the workforce upon completing our program.

Focusing on centering the mind, body, and spirit, our yoga classes will teach our community how to incorporate balance and wellness into their lives. Certified yoga instructions will give live, on-site demonstrations, while also providing education and classes for those interested in becoming acquainted with the world of yoga and exercise. This is the perfect way for those overcoming substance abuse and mental health disorders, to learn other, non-habit forming, holistic techniques to combat stress, frustration, anxiety, etc.

Our gym will seek to ensure program participants and community members remain active and begin to foster a lifestyle of health and wellness. While they will be free to use the equipment during available hours, we will also bring certified, personal trainers on-site to provide classes, as well as education for those who have a passion and an interest in becoming fitness trainers.

Our activity rooms will allow residents and participants of the program to participate art classes and other life skills classes. We will provide interested indivuals with materials and will ensure that all classes are taught by skilled professionals in their areas.

Our training room will provide an area for our program participants to receive training in a professional setting. Equipped with state-of-art TVS for presentation purposes, along with a conference style set-up, both our community and guest speakers will be equipped with the business-like environment necessary for trainings.

Our multipurpose area, complete with a stage, lighting, and adequate seating, will allow for program participants to participate in scheduled events including but not limited to:

If you need a space to conduct professional photo shoots or getting started on your film production journey, Changing Your Ordinary has what you need. Cutting edge equipment plus spacious green rooms will be available for rent. Our program participants will also have access to learning how to conduct photo sessions and operate on-set for film production purposes, editing, content creation, and accessing different networks. Professional photographers and videographers will be on-site to provide the educational aspect of this aspect of our community center. No idea is too big! We’re here to put creatives in recovering community to work!

We understand the importance of recreation. Our game room will feature state-of-the-art flat screen TVs, pool tables, tables and lounging chairs, etc. This will be a place where our program participants can unwind in a safe, relaxing, and fun environment. Providing our recovering program participants with a healthy outlet is necessary to help ensure their recovery process is consistent.

Scheduled, healthy meals will be served from our state-of-the-art kitchen. Program participants may gather here to enjoy nutritious meals in an elegant dining atmosphere. Program participants will learn from local chefs how to prepare quick, yet nutritious meals. They will also learn the nutritional value of foods. Additionally, classes offered will include a “kiddie” segment that will allow children to learn how to prepare healthy snacks and small meals that require no oven use. Between prepared meals and meal prep classes, we will combat obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more in our community. For more information about events in our banquet room, you may contact us via the information provided.

With update-to-date computers, Wi-Fi, and plenty of work space, our computer lab will allow individuals to access the internet and complete other important tasks such as resume building, job application completion, and more. Occasionally we will have professionals provide education to our program participants on basic computer skills in order to help them succeed in this tech-savvy world.

Upon opening our facility, we will provide education pertaining to medical and dental care, so that our program participants can gain an awareness of how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Where before they may have succumb to substance abuse and mental health issues, they will now be educated about the necessity of caring for themselves from a medical standpoint. Classes would include but not be limited to: self-care, diabetes education, education on weight loss, and more.

Hands on education is important, as well as the ability for one to learn on their own. Our facility will feature a spacious bookstore that allows program participants the opportunity to purchase books at affordable prices, within their community. We will ensure that books sold in our book store are up to date and relevant to personal growth and self-guided learning for every individual. Children’s books will also be available for purchase.

Many times individuals in certain communities are denied access to adequate resources. The Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Center will house a library on campus. Fully stocked with relevant books, computers, tables and chairs; our recovery center participants will have an opportunity to obtain a library card and check-out books through our borrow and return system. Books appropriate for all ages (adults and children) will be provided.

We’re excited to offer our program participants a place to call home! Our housing component will include three, 1300 sq ft. duplexes. Each duplex contains two bedroom apartments for a total of 12 rooms, to provide individuals and families an opportunity to get back on their feet with safe, secure, and affordable housing right on our premises. These apartments are equipped with a bathroom, kitchen, and a shared common area. Our security cameras and on-site monitoring of the premises will ensure the safety of our residents.

From every day recreation to community wide tournaments, our indoor basketball courts are in the works. This basketball court will be outfitted with bleachers to allow basketball players and watchers alike to enjoy this space. We will also host celebrity basketball games here as well.

We aim to provide services that cater to the whole individual. Most individuals who are recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges, often lack access to the medical care they need. As such, we will provide medical and dental outpatient services to our program participants and community members at large, to ensure they receive quality care, from medical and dental professionals, at an affordable price. Access to primary care would include but would not be limited to:

Our facility is much more than a cutting edge, sprawling campus, with state-of-the-art equipment and posh furniture. We are making a true impact in our community. The Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Center will serve to empower our program participants and members of our community at large.

Our recovery center operates solely from the grants, state and federal funding, and donations and partnerships from generous individuals like you. We welcome the opportunity to partner with you in order to create lasting change in our community. You can partner with us via:

For more information, be sure to visit us on the web: byoinc.org

Our Staffing is comprised of Peer Support Specialists and Life Coaches who have a focus on recovery support. A key component of our program is to provide opportunity to those overcoming addiction in order to work with us in Peer Support Services, fulfilling roles for which they feel passionate, and creating a cycle of abundance and opportunity while breaking the devastating cycle of addiction, criminal engagement, hopelessness, and replacing it with growth, success, life change, motivation, and the potential to empower others perceiving recovery and addiction from a lens which our specialists have been able to completely overcome, but can look back through to help those who are hurting right where they are. Our specialists are a living example of overcoming a lifetime of pain and lack and crossing the bridge of Changing Your Ordinary as they reclaim all of the potential that lies within them. Truly there are great treasures in the mud and muck; that is where the diamonds are.

For those recovering from addiction to fully engage in independent and drug free living, there are various barriers to overcome. The most difficult to overcome is for individuals who have found themselves having lost everything, from family support to stable living. Many of these individuals find themselves homeless and with no idea as to how to establish housing and begin to rebuild the supports they have lost. While reflecting upon having no plan or understanding of where to begin, many find themselves victim to circumstances which are cyclic in nature, and lead them back to familiar behavioral patterns, leading to relapse and continued homelessness and legal struggles. In response to this serious barrier, Changing Your Ordinary proposes to provide a safe and stable living environment to serve up to 12 individuals simultaneously with a focus on recovery support while re-establishing familial support systems that have been wrecked due to ongoing substance abuse and the behavioral impacts that substance abuse have in individuals, leading to incarceration, theft, dishonesty, emotional/mood dysregulation, and other strains on relationships, stability, and community living. The overall goal of the program is to support these individuals in overcoming past stressors which contributed to substance use and allow them to re-conceptualize themselves with a new and higher purpose in order to find employment in a capacity that speaks to their highest passions, as well as stable and independent living through teaching them everyday life skills while engaged in the housing program and providing ongoing support once they are able to establish independent housing through wraparound services which are provided through Changing Your Ordinary’s Recovery Center, located within walking distance of the temporary housing being offered them. As they begin to integrate into the housing program, they will be supported by Peer Support Specialists who are living a life of recovery and can exemplify the possibility of true life-change, while also being able to empathize with the individuals served and meet them where they are as they help them to take steps toward their life goals at their own pace. This begins with a serene living environment where their needs are being met, and they are provided tools that they can use to learn to budget and create short-term goals which lead to long-term success. The areas of primary focus are career development, which begins with ensuring that they are able to access vital records such as their ID and Social Security Cards, and from there, moving toward self-inventory to assess their sense of motivation and passion, asking questions to help them conceptualize what drives them and brings them joy so that they can use this understanding to build a career path which suits their individual needs. Transportation and what that entails is also vital to recovery and will be addressed through identifying each individual’s need and ability, considering bus routes, Medicaid transport, or establishing personal transportation through budgeting and purchasing a vehicle, ensuring that their driver’s licenses are intact, and educating them about insurance while also helping them to establish it. Our recovery center aims to support them in establishing a career in their field of choice. Once they have the tools that they need to find work which they are passionate about, they will be supported in seeking out work and provided insight into resume building and interviewing, working with Peer Support Specialists and Life Coaches to provide empowerment and positive reinforcement to encourage a wholesome and positive self-concept and belief in their intrinsic capabilities to secure employment. Scholarship/Certification monies are allocated to the individuals served in order to support them in overcoming any perceived barriers in their path. Physical health and mental health play into one another on a profound level, therefore, these individuals, upon enrolling in the housing program, will be supported in establishing insurance through Medicaid or another insurance panel, and will be encouraged to begin to attend to physical health needs which have often gone long unattended. They will be encouraged to secure a primary doctor, specialists (if relevant), ocular attention, and dentistry. If oral health is a concern, which is often the case due to ongoing substance abuse, they will be supported in taking steps to attend to any oral concerns that they have in order to ensure that they feel confident when they smile, as smiling is inherent to happiness, and is directly connected to self-esteem and confidence, which are key to long-term life-change.

Changing Your Ordinary is without any stigma, believing in the inherent good and potential of all people, regardless of their history if involved in opioid treatment, criminal background, religious background, gender, or race. Our doors are wide-open as we aim to serve in rebuilding the vitality of the community and re-establishing a sense of belief in the community, building relationships and bonds that stretch through law enforcement, the court systems, and the neighbors on all sides of us.

The individuals who call Changing Your Ordinary ‘home’ will be provided a wealth of opportunities to engage in recovery support groups and will be encouraged to engage in a familial atmosphere with other residents of the program through cookouts, playing games, and engaging in the act of living together. They will be fully supported by a team of Peer Support Specialists and Life Coaches to encourage these bonds and strategize healthy living, mental wellness, empowerment, and relapse prevention.

Our housing complex consists of three duplex structures which are behind the Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Support Center in Macon Georgia, and within walking distance. Within the duplexes, there are six (6) two-bedroom apartments, which are able to support up to twelve individuals in their journey into recovery. The individuals will be provided with a food allowance, clothing allowance, and monies will be designated for ongoing education/certification, and establishment of vital records. These fully furnished living environments offer a fully stocked kitchen and all needed amenities, as well as a serene environment to remind these individuals of their value and worth. Being immersed in a situation of abundance and hope will encourage positive thinking patterns which will lead to the fulfillment of their goals, and many of these individuals will have a very cyclic role within Changing Your Ordinary, as they will go on to work with us and, if it is their passion, support others beginning this journey. They will be taught life skills such as maintaining their living environments, including landscaping, cooking meals, and self-advocacy through the tools that are provided, such as personal laptops as Changing Your Ordinary opens its doors to those who have felt cast out from society, self-respect, and the consideration of others for far too long.

Passionate, diligent, and full of compassion encompass the essence of who Mya Speller is. She has long held the belief that people can pivot and create the lives they were meant to live. Her heart to see the often forgotten of society, has always caused her to make bold moves in the community. As the founder of Beyond Your Ordinary Inc., and Changing Phases Behavioral Support, Inc. she has successfully intertwined her education and passion for seeing individuals whole, into her life’s work.

Mental health and substance abuse addiction are arenas Mya understands thoroughly, and they are areas in which she is proficient. She works diligently to holistically remove the stigma associated with mental health and among the substance abuse community. Additionally, Mya is particularly gifted in providing families, companies, organizations and communities the necessary tools in order to recognize the signs and symptoms of environmental risk factors, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. This tool kit is imperative to the strength and longevity of any community. As a graduate of North Carolina A&T and Capella Universities, respectively; Mya has obtained not only a wealth of experience but also possesses an advanced educational background. In an effort to constantly grow and evolve, she is currently completing her Ph.D. which will serve to further fuel her devotion to individuals who are struggling to overcome substance abuse and mental health obstacles. She brings over twenty years of experience to the Macon, Georgia area, through this new initiative.

Always thinking outside of the box, Mya has created the Changing Your Ordinary Recovery Center. She is merging her knowledge and passion for mental health, addiction, and social and emotional well-being. While substance abuse clinics are necessary, she understands that other needs exist in low income communities as well. Environmental factors such as diet, limited or no access to basic resources (medical, social, educational, etc.) also hold individuals back. Having this insight, Mya is bringing to Macon something it’s never seen before. This is not just another clinic in a low income community. This is a holistic recovery center, set to bring medical, physical, psychological, mental, social, educational, and even spiritual revival to a long overlooked community. Mya shares the vision of her ancestors and all that went before her, to see individuals in challenging, seemingly impossible situations, rise. Standing on the backs of previous generations, she stands tall and holds this community and it’s future dear to her heart. She has come to continue the vision that was birthed and feels called to take the baton and help mold this community, particularly those struggling with substance abuse addiction and mental health challenges, into something many never knew was possible.