Journey to Purpose: Spotlight on Nautica Pope

When you sit down with Nautica Pope, you realize something quickly: even without the job title, she is a fierce and dedicated advocate for others.

Today, Nautica uses that supportive and determined energy in her role as the Parent Engagement Advocate with Athens THRIVe, a program of Family Connection–Communities In Schools of Athens that supports families with children ages 0-3 involved in DFCS and the court system. But her journey to here was paved with hard work, recovery, resilience, and an unwavering belief that growth is possible.

A Calling Discovered

In 2023, Nautica entered rehab. In 2024, she walked out determined to build something new.

While in treatment, she met a CPS mental health professional. Curious, she asked, “Why am I meeting with you? You aren’t teaching me a curriculum. Who are you and what do you do?”

The answer changed everything.

“I’m here to support you.”

That word — support — resonated with her. Nautica realized she had been doing peer support her entire life. Whether someone was struggling with substance use or navigating hardship, she was making people laugh through hard days, reminding them they were beautiful, and walking with them through it all.

So she charted her path to officially do what she has been doing throughout her entire life: supporting and advocating for others. The road wasn’t easy. She was balancing probation obligations, bills, debt, and parenting her children. But she kept going.

Nautica invested in herself, studying independently when she could between work, caring for her family, and attending college online. In addition to actively learning through courses, she also learned from her support system, which included friend and mentor, Mimi Brown-Griggs. That friendship helped lead her straight to us at FC-CIS of Athens - and we are so glad it did! 

THRIVing In Her Role

“I love THRIVe,” she says. “Every day is something new to learn. I’ve gained so much experience and so many connections. Even when I’m not in the building, I feel part of something.”

Since she started pursuing this work, Nautica has completed many certifications, including: Certified Peer Specialist, Circle of Security Parenting training, and Joy and Truth Speakers training through DIVAS Who Win — a transformative experience that helped her reshape how she tells her story. 

“It changed a whole lot for me,” she explains. “My story comes from sadness and trauma. But I learned how to tell it with joy and truth — in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the room.”

“I was able to rewrite my story,” she says. “I don’t feel naked after I tell it anymore.”

Most recently, she completed her CARES training, a big step in her work as a peer advocate. CARES - Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist - is an intensive evidence-informed training program that prepares individuals to use their lived experience for advocacy and support. This is a big accomplishment - and she did it within her first week on the job. 

One of the most significant parts of her CARES training was motivational interviewing — practicing reflective listening with phrases like, “So what I hear you saying is…”

Nautica took this exercise and ran with it, using it as a guide rather than a constraint. She learned the techniques and used the reflective style to not just reflect back in listening, but to reflect back the person who was speaking. In each conversation, she listened to the person and worked to match their style. It made it more conversational while adhering to the standards and techniques. 

As she has done with all of her work, she brings her own experience and knowledge into each conversation and interview, while respecting and acknowledging the experiences of the person she is working with as well.

“Peer support works because people relate to who you are and where you’ve been,” Nautica says. “I’m a person who struggled with substance use. I’m sober now. And I can support people who want to live a life of wellness.”

Beyond the Work

Nautica’s story is not just one of recovery. It is one of rewriting. Of investing in yourself when it would be easier not to.

At Athens THRIVe, she brings lived experience, hard-won credentials, humor, heart, and hope. She reminds families — and herself — that there is no perfect timeline.

When asked about one experience she would relive for the first time, her answer is immediate and tender:

“To be with my dad again. To tell him I’m okay now.”

That quiet statement carries the weight of her journey — and the pride in how far she has come.