Group brings fight against addiction to Grafton

One of Ozaukee County’s longest-running programs aimed at helping those recovering from addiction just moved into the northern portion of the county, taking up residence in the Ozaukee Nonprofit Center in Grafton.

“We just moved into the Nonprofit Center last year, after 10 years in Mequon,” Tina Perry, founder and president of Just Listen, said.

“I wasn’t sure how it would go, having two offices, but I find it’s a benefit to people who come from the south in Milwaukee  and to people in the Port Washington area who don’t want to come to Mequon. It actually works out.”

Perry founded Just Listen 14 years ago to help people dealing with addiction, something she and her daughter Angelina, who died in 2021 from a blood disorder, also did.

“I’m a woman with a big heart who has lost her daughter,” she said. 

A big part of what Just Listen does is plan events to give people struggling with substance use things to do as an alternative.

“From the beginning, I was thinking about what was happening with these kids and I wanted to give them things to do so they have something to do with like minded people and leave substances behind,” she said.

Those include “Just Listen in the Kitchen” events where clients and supporters cook together and create dishes.

“I just taught a lady last night to make homemade frosting,” she said. “It was wonderful to see” her sense of accomplishment.

According to the Just Listen website, other services have included certified recovery coaching, online and in-person support groups, medication intervention training, emergency room support following an overdose and monitoring PharmCheck sweat patches, a device worn on the skin to continuously collect sweat over an extended period for drug-testing purposes.

The organization also sponsors retreats and once a month operates a food program for a Milwaukee recovery program. 

Perry’s organization is comprised entirely of volunteers. There is no paid staff, and Perry said she does not get paid.

Every member of Just Listen’s recovery team and board of directors are either in recovery or familiar with addiction, according to the website.

Perry said former Ozaukee County Sheriff Jim Johnson encouraged her to get training.

“He said, ‘You’re a woman with a big heart but you need some certifications,’” she said. 

That led to her earning her recovery peer support specialist certification in 2017.

Perry estimated that more than 50 people have been helped this year by Just Listen.

The name of the group was inspired by a song her brother Tony wrote.
“We accept anybody for the people that they are. We want to help people help themselves. When we help ourselves we are able to help others,” she said.

“It’s magical when I  talk to people and ask them, ‘How do you want things to look like for your future.’” 

An Illinois native who moved to Mequon 33 years ago,  Perry said she has a number of events planned.

One that just began is “Let’s Tackle This,” a football-themed program that was  held on Sept. 19 in which participants got a football jersey. More events are in the works during the NFL season.

Just Listen was one of the featured organizations in Illuminate Ozaukee, a drive-through holiday light show at Zeunert Park in Cedarburg sponsored by the Ozaukee Nonprofit Center this holiday season.

For more information, visit www.Just-Listen.org.