What is a CARE Talks Event?

Walter Randall was born in Portsmouth VA. After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1985. He joined the Army to start his military career. 

Walter Randall has been a resident of our city for the past 22 years. He has worked with the Homeless population in Richmond, Va. over the past 15 years. Mr. Randall started with Rubicon (Men’s Treatment Center) where he learned to have a love for service, and found a greater need to serve the homeless population. Walter provided direct services at (Emergency Shelter Institution) which is now Home Again and later transitioned to be a Rehabilitation Specialist at Virginia Supportive Housing in 2004.

Walter is currently employed at the Daily Planet’s Grace Street Health Center for the Homeless as a Certified Application Counselor. He has also been a member of the coordinated street outreach team which locates chronically homeless, disabled individuals. He assisted the most vulnerable individuals with accessing supportive housing and other mainstream services

Walter believes that in order to go somewhere in this world, education is a must. He received his Career Studies Certification with a major in Substance Abuse Counseling Education from J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond 2013.Later, Walter graduated from J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College with his Associate’s Degree in Human Services. He went on to receive his State board of Substance Abuse Counseling Assistant License in 2015.He is now enrolled at Samuel De-Witt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University and is currently pursuing his Applied Master’s Degree in Divinity.

Walter most experience of substance abuse is his personal struggle. After being addicted for over 1o years, Walter went through a treatment program where he learned about the diseases of addiction. Walter now has 21 years of sobriety from any move or mind altering substance. 

Mr. Moses Wright, CSAC is a 30-year professional in substance use disorders (SUD) whom has worked in a variety of settings through his career. His “clean date” is 1/4/82, and he currently provides Board Approved clinical supervision to those seeking certificates as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor Assistant (CSAC-A) and Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC).  Moses pursues his interest as a Life Coach in recovery dynamics, especially areas related to Family of Origin, Shame and Attachment Disorder (codependency).  He is married to Brenda Sookins Wright and they have two children, Marwin and Karla. Moses is a “Green Dragon,” having graduated Richmond’s Maggie L. Walker High School, prior to attending St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia where he obtained his undergraduate degree.  Moses collects turtles, gardens and travels in his spare time.  He resides “South of the James,” and is a member of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.

Marshall is a person in long term recovery from a Substance Use Disorder, which means he has not found it necessary to use any mood or mind altering substances since September 1, 1988. He is from the Richmond area, attended the Engineering program at VCU in the 70’s and loves math.  Marshall retired from Quebecor Printing Company in 2011 as a Quality Control Analyst, and he currently hold certificates for Recovery Coach and Peer Leadership Skills as well as Certified Peer Recovery Specialist.  He has been committed to carrying recovery’s message of hope to jails and institutions as a meeting facilitator for over 20 years and loves working with the forgotten people…the castaways of our society.  Marshall is married with two children, both of whom are lawyers.

John S. Finn, Jr. is one of the Virginia’s leading Realtors, he has earned an outstanding reputation as a pre-eminent professional in the industry. John is Managing Broker of United Real Estate Richmond. Additionally, John has served on the Property Advisory Committee of the Commonwealth Girls Scout Council and the Virginia State Committee on National Home Ownership Strategies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Moreover, he officiated as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Business League. John is the President of the Richmond Association of Realtors. His civic involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors of; Area Congregation Together in Service (ACTS), The Beta Gamma Lambda Scholarship Foundation and Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH). John has a son, Antonio who resides Portsmouth Va.  John lives in Bon Air, Virginia with his wife Lorri and youngest son John III.

“I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve the Recovery Community through an organization that is literally saving lives each and every day. That is what they do here at McShin.”

“Hope rises like a phoenix from the ashes of shattered dreams” --S.A. Sachs

Denise is a highly sought after and dynamic speaker who delivers a powerful and impactful message on two relevant topics of our times…heroin addiction and recovery and prisoner re-entry.

She received her Master of Divinity Degree from Virginia Union University and frequently speaks to groups about the role spirituality plays in the recovery and reentry processes.  Although these are often controversial topics, she has been welcomed by many different church groups, conferences, community forums and prisons to hear her speak on these subjects. 

Once incarcerated and the victim of childhood sexual abuse, Denise turned to alcohol and drugs to deal with this life altering trauma. Today, Denise celebrates over 23 years of recovery from substance use disorder. She uses the knowledge and experience gained through her personal journey to help organizations shape their programs and strategic direction. Denise is a leader in all phases of the recovery process and is especially adept in transitioning individuals back to the community from incarceration.

Denise’s professional experiences include: Certified Recovery Coaching Professional at LivingOutLoud1on1, Family Housing Case Manager and Employment Coach at Housing Families First, Corrections Program Manager of the McShin Foundation, Executive Director of the Substance Abuse Addiction & Recovery Alliance of Virginia and Multi-Site Outreach Director of a local church. Denise has also served as a patient advocate, a case manager and substance abuse counselor for Salvation Army. She was a consultant for Springhill, a residential program for violent ex-offender women and has served on two different Virginia Governor's Councils - one for Policy on Prisoner Reentry, as well as Policy on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.