Susan O. Binns: A Legacy of Service

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our esteemed founder, board chairman, and dear friend, Susan O. Binns. Susan's visionary leadership and unwavering dedication to the people we serve not only shaped recovery housing in Tennessee but will continue to impact the national recovery landscape in perpetuity.

As one of the first female scholarship recipients of Cumberland Heights, Susan began her life in recovery in 1979.  Almost immediately, she began what would become a life centered on service to others. This quickly led to work in the addiction care field and facilitating the start of a multitude of addiction treatment programs throughout the Southeast.

Susan’s desire to support others’ recovery journeys culminated in 1996 when she opened her own recovery community for women YANA (You Are Never Alone). At its peak, YANA supported a capacity of 40 women in 5 family-style homes with a safe, supportive environment in which they could navigate early recovery.

Here, Susan did something unheard of at the time: She supported recovering individuals instead of policing them. Providing holistic and trauma-informed care before they were buzzwords, Susan’s work should be viewed as one of the first modern applications of the Social-Experiential Model to recovery housing outside of the Oxford Model. This person-first philosophy prioritizes empowerment, human connection and personal transformation, and she didn’t just apply it – she revolutionized it.

After watching countless women transcend their addictions and enter long-term recovery, Susan knew she was onto something. She began advocating fiercely for ethical standards in recovery housing and the Social-Experiential Model of Recovery leading to her role as the national President of AHHAP (Association of Halfway House Alcoholism Programs) and founding of the Tennessee Alliance of Recovery Residences in 2008. In 2011, guided by Susan’s leadership, AHHAP was elevated and merged into the newly formed National Alliance for Recovery Residences. A national body that sets standards, best practices, and ethical principles for recovery housing operators, all rooted in the Social-Experiential Model of Recovery.

Today, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing all recognize the person-centered practices that Susan pioneered at You Are Never Alone (YANA). This national movement grew from Susan receiving a treatment scholarship in 1979, inspiring her lifelong commitment to helping each new person in need of support.

On September 16^th, 2025, when Susan took her final breath, NARR affiliates accounted for over 8,000 recovery homes across the United States, including almost 300 hundred homes in Tennessee via TN-ARR (all certified to utilize the social-experiential model of recovery). In a final act of service, Susan made her transition during the 2025 NARR Best Practices summit – allowing some of her closest friends the opportunity to experience the healing power of human connection before they scattered to their individual state affiliates across the country.

By focusing on the individual, Susan has impacted millions, and her ripples will continue to expand exponentially as time passes. After struggling to quantify her remarkable impact, we thought there was no better way to honor her legacy than to ask for some firsthand accounts from people that got to experience the SOB effect.

“Grit. Tenacity. Wisdom. Compassion with humor. Trailblazer. Role model. Chain breaker. Walked the walk of true recovery. Always there for others. Fighter for what was right. That was what Susan was for me and our team. May God keep and surround her-her family- and all whose lives she touched. She will be forever missed.”

-Marie Williams, Commissioner

Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

“My beautiful Friend and mentor, SOB, Susan O. Binns. She was an inspirational, in-your-face innovator who lit up anywhere she went to illuminate a pathway to hope, help and healing. She was BIG - heart, personality and impact! She formed the Tennessee Alliance of Recovery Residences and we joined forces with others across the country to envision the National Alliance for Recovery Residences that is now a part of standards and ethics for 40 states and thousands of recovery homes - a huge network and community. She leaves such a big legacy that will go on. She was a connector who showed us that love is a verb, an action demonstrated in our care for each other through compassion and community. She goes on through all of us that she touched. I am a better human and helper for her friendship and lived example, and am so grateful for the journey with her.”

-Beth Fischer-Sanders, LCSW, LCAS, MAC, CCS

NARR Board Member

“Few others have left their mark on the recovery community like Susan.  She has been a change agent and an advocate for struggling women for as long as women could seek treatment in Tennessee.  She taught me so much about so much, and I had the honor of being deeply loved by this force of nature.  I hope that I effectively conveyed to her how much she was deeply loved by me.”

-Karen Moran, LADAC II, NCAC II, QCS

Karen Moran Consulting, LLC and MTAADAC President

“Susan, our relationship wasn’t always easy in the beginning. But about twelve years ago, we met, we talked, and we realized we were truly two peas in a pod—both passionate about making sure people suffering from addiction had access to quality services.

Our passion sometimes came across loud, and to those who didn’t really know us, maybe even a little pushy. But if you knew us, you knew that was just our hearts speaking—mine for treatment, hers for recovery. And together, those passions came together in powerful ways.

Susan and I partnered to tackle some of the hardest topics in treatment and recovery. She never shied away from the tough conversations, and neither did I—and that’s why we worked so well together.

Last year, when I was facing some significant health issues, Susan called me once or twice a week just to check in, to make sure I was okay. You’ll never know how much that meant to me. That was Susan—always giving, always caring, always showing up.

When I heard the news today that she gained her wings, I cried. And then, I smiled. And then I chuckled—because I could hear her voice in my head, saying, “Straighten up, Hillin- This is a good thing.

Susan, you made a difference in my life, and in the lives of so many others over the years. God bless you, my friend. I am proud and grateful to have walked this journey with you. Rest in peace."

-Debbie Hillin, MA, LADAC, QCS

President - Buffalo Valley

“Susan consistently met people where they are in their active addiction, prior to or in their recovery journey supporting those in need.  

One of those individuals was me. 

When I got out of treatment in 2006, I met Susan and that has grown into a powerful and meaningful friendship.  I enjoyed our regular calls, working together, and spending time with her swimming, drinking iced tea, and sharing about life on life's terms and always making a point to focus on things I am grateful for.   

She shared her own experience, strength and hope and that has helped me grow in my own recovery journey, as well as in my relationships personally and professionally.  She served as an influential figure, trusted advisor, and colleague.  She frequently questioned conventional practices and expressed viewpoints that were not widely voiced. 

Drawing on her own experiences with needing safety, food, shelter, and community, she helped establish certified recovery housing nationally and in our state.  Her laugh was contagious. Her unwavering commitment not only changed lives but also inspired others to continue her legacy.  Susan’s compassion and steadfast belief in the power of community set a standard for advocacy and care that will be remembered through generations and years to come.  Tell Judge Norman and Mary Ann hello.  I will see you again my friend."

-Jeri Holladay Thomas, M.A.

CEO - Judge Seth Norman Recovery Foundation

“Susan is a remarkable person who will be dearly missed.  She cherished life and recovery. Susan helped many women recover, both in the rooms and in her recovery houses.  I loved to sit and chat with Susan, if for no other reason than to listen to her throaty, Northeast accent.  No matter what the subject, Susan’s heart was always in the right place.  She will be chairing that big meeting in the sky in no time at all.  

Susan, you are not alone.

With Love, Mike Baron”

-Michael Baron, MD, MPH

Medical Director – Tennessee Medical Foundation

President - Federation of State Physician Health Programs

“Susan was a force for good in a dark part of our world.She stood with and for struggling people. Her kindness and wisdom were tempered by a steel will that she focused on serving least of us. She spoke unflinching truth to power.The vibrant recovery community of Nashville is in no small way related to her pioneering work with women, the incarcerated, and the marginalized. Her mentees included doctors, lawyers, the biggest names in country music, and people of all stripes, and colors.She mentored me professionally and personally and was an unfailing friend to my family, taking a particular interest in coaching and being a role model to my daughters.She prayed privately and acted publicly, inspiring countless souls.We shared work and prayers and dogs and books and hope and food and music. Our world is better because she lived in it.

I know she is in Heaven smiling down at us because no Devil could hold her down in Hell.May God bless her and all who loved her.”

-Dan Sumrok, MD

President Emeritus – Tennessee Society of Addiction Medicine

“Susan’s immeasurable spirit and commitment to the cause of assisting others in the recovery process, a personal journey of hers for more than 40 years shared generously with everyone with whom she connected.  Susan will be sorely missed as a friend and staunch advocate for recovery.  Love you always Susan, your friend Michael”

-Michael Sontag, Attorney

Chair - Trusts & Estates Practice Group

Member - Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

“Recovery champion, genuine, generous, smart, bold, funny, witty and dedicated to serving others to reach their full potential.  A visionary leader who walked the walk and talked the talk while showing love and compassion for all mankind.  Condolences to Susan’s family and friends.  She will be forever remembered for the lives she touched and reunified.  I miss her already, my true friend and fan.”

-Melvin Smith, Assistant Director of Treatment and Recovery Services

Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

“Susan had a transformative impact on the recovery house space in Tennessee and across the U.S. She had a pioneering spirit and was deeply committed to those that she loved and to the issues she cared about. I’ll be forever grateful for our friendship. I so enjoyed our conversations about recovery. She is loved very much and will most certainly be missed, however, her legacy will live on and shine brightly. Thank you for pouring into me and into our space. With gratitude,”

-Darrell Mitchell, MBA

President – NARR

“As with so many others, you believed in me before I could believe in myself.  You taught me dreams were sacred, participating in another’s journey was a privilege and that the world was always teaching if I was willing to listen.  A part of me will always want to be on your back patio, shifting between the ‘file drawers’ of our conversations from plants to housing, housing to life, life to social model, and social model into God knows what.  I’m so incredibly fortunate that out of all the people in the world, I got to learn from one of the wisest and kindest humans to ever exist.  I consider it the honor of a lifetime to help carry one of the many torches you lit.  You’ll forever be my hero, my mentor and my friend.”

-Garrison Nuckols,

Director of Operations – TN-ARR

Gone, but never forgotten, Susan O. Binns (SOB)

Susan receiving the TN-ARR SOB Lifetime Achievement Award at the Anzie Blue in Nashville, TN 2.12.24

Garrison Nuckols

TN-ARR

9/17/2025