Naima Jones

Naima Jones, who calls the Upper Peninsula of Michigan home, has been a MCBAP Board of Directors member since 2023. She is the Clinical Director of Residential Services for Great Lakes Recovery Center and has been in the substance use disorder field for about 15 years.

Naima began her social work career as a Child Protective Services worker in Milwaukee, WI. There, she witnessed the devastating effects of addiction on families and children. Through connecting empathically with parents with substance use disorders, she realized that addiction is not a matter of choice or willpower, but a chronic illness that needs compassion and support. She witnessed the powerful changes that often occur with the help of treatment and recovery services.

Based on those experiences, she realized her passion for helping people overcome addiction and trauma. She decided to switch from being reactive to being proactive and went to work with women in recovery. There, she learned to measure success differently for each client, basing her expectations on their goals and needs.

Now in Michigan, she enjoys collaborating with a diverse clientele and staff. Naima describes herself as a “dealer in hope.”  She has seen enough success stories in her career to know that recovery is possible. She has also seen enough losses to know that every life matters. Every person deserves respect and dignity.

Naima strives to find commonalities with everyone she meets. She believes that connections are everything in a society that often drives wedges between people. This is true outside of work as well. In her free time, she likes to travel, explore diverse cultures and foods, watch historical movies (especially those set-in 16th-19th centuries), admire old architecture (especially castles). She loves to spend time with her family which includes her husband and three children: an 19-year-old daughter, an eight-year-old daughter, and a six-year-old son.

MCBAP is honored to have Naima Jones on our Board of Directors.