Today we’d like to introduce you to John Stuckey.
Hi John, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Thank you for having me. I’m a person in long-term recovery, and I’ve spent the last 15+ years working in this field from just about every angle — running recovery homes, leading treatment programs, building nonprofits, and working in policy and government affairs for a pharmaceutical company.
Recovery isn’t just my career; it’s become a huge part of my life personally and professionally. I know firsthand what it takes to rebuild, and I know how many people never get the chance because the support system around them is fragmented or unaffordable.
In 2013, I founded The ARCHway Institute, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit built on a simple belief: recovery from substance use and mental health disorders is possible, but no one recovers alone. People need housing, treatment, peer support, employment, and community — and too often, the financial gap between someone deciding to get help and actually getting it is where we lose them. ARCHway exists to close that gap.
Since our founding, we’ve awarded more than 584 grants totaling over $679,000 to individuals and families in recovery — helping cover things like recovery housing, treatment access, and the basic stability people need to rebuild their lives.
My own path to this work ran through both the professional and personal sides of the recovery field. I served as a Program Manager at Assisted Recovery Centers of America here in St. Louis, then as Executive Director of Recovery House, that has grown from 6 beds to now more than 350 residents. I later spent years at Alkermes Pharmaceuticals in community relations and government affairs, working at the intersection of treatment, policy, and community. In January 2026, I returned full-time to my role as CEO of ARCHway, and I also oversee the National Peer Recovery Alliance (NPRA), which works to elevate peer support as a profession nationally. Along the way, I’ve served on numerous boards across the recovery and behavioral health field, and a couple of years ago I was honored to be recognized as a Mental Health Champion — an award that means a great deal to me because it reflects the community’s work, not just mine
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all — and honestly, I wouldn’t trust anyone in this field who said otherwise.
The biggest challenge in recovery work is that the need is endless and the resources never are. Every week we hear from families in crisis, and every grant we give means making hard decisions about the ones we can’t. Learning to sustain an organization emotionally and financially through that reality is a constant discipline.
We also made a deliberate structural choice early on that made our road harder in the short term but stronger in the long term: ARCHway is privately funded. We don’t take direct government grants — contracts only. That means we have to earn every dollar through relationships, donors, and partnerships. But it also means our mission is never dependent on a budget cycle in Washington or Jefferson City, and we can move at the speed of the people we serve.
And like every founder, I’ve learned that scaling an organization means letting go — building a team, trusting them, and evolving from doing everything myself to building systems that outlast me. We’ve invested heavily in that over the past year, including bringing on Dr. Stephanie Hutter-Thomas as our Director of Operations. Mike Tyson as the Executive Director of NPRA and Marybeth Hill who is our Director of “Everything that moves”
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
ARCHway’s work comes down to four words that make up our campaign tagline: Awareness, Recovery, Community and Health (ARCH). Everything we feel falls into what we call Recovery Ecosystems.
A recovery ecosystem is the full network a person needs to sustain recovery — treatment providers, recovery housing, peer support specialists, employers, faith communities, families, and funders, all working together instead of in silos. Our campaign moves communities through five phases: Convene all the stakeholders, Aligning everyone on the same path, Mobilize around shared goals and expectations, Strengthen relationships and partnerships, and Support/Sustain the systems.
What sets us apart:
• We fund gaps in care for individuals and support organizations to better serve the community. Our HOPE Fund grants go to individuals and families to remove the financial barriers between them and recovery — 584+ grants and counting.
• We build the connective tissue. Through our 2026 Recovery Ecosystems Campaign, we’re launching city-based recovery ecosystems in five communities this year, starting right here at home. Our St. Louis regional event is August 12, 2026, at the Hillsboro Community Civic Center, followed by Columbus, Ohio in October, with Little Rock, Southwest Florida, and Southern Illinois to come.
• We elevate peer support. Through the National Peer Recovery Alliance, we champion people with lived experience as the professional heart of the recovery workforce.
• We tell recovery stories. Our Recovery Blueprint podcast shares the voices, science, and strategies behind building recovery-ready communities.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a number — it’s the phone calls and letters from people, years later, telling us the grant ARCHway gave them was the bridge that got them to where they are today.
For readers who want to get involved: come to our August 12 event in Hillsboro, become a sponsor, or learn more at thearchwayinstitute.org.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Well my dad always said “that luck is when preparation and opportunity come together”. So I try to stay LUCKY like a STUCKEY LOL 😂 ….. but on a serious note I have always felt that the mission of ARCHway was way bigger than me or my family and that God has always had a plan for this organization and the path it has been on and continues to take is not driven by us. And I not only feel lucky to be a passenger on this ride but truly bless to have witnessed the impact it has made over the last 15 years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.thearchwayinstitute.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/186bzsoFHN/?mibextid=wwXIfr
