A Legacy of Hope: Tracie Jada O’Brien and Stepping Stone at 50

By Cesar A Reyes

Tracie Jada O’Brien’s journey with Stepping Stone began at a moment when her life could have gone in any direction—and easily, the wrong one. “My name is Tracie Jada O’Brien. I am a Black Trans Elder and an alumnus of Stepping Stone,” she says, grounding her story in identity and lived experience. In 1991, she was incarcerated, facing addiction and homelessness, when another transgender inmate told her about a place called Stepping Stone. “It sounded like a way out,” she remembers. That simple idea—a way out—was enough. With her release date approaching, she reached out on the possibility of help and a place to stay. Then, on December 25, 1991, that possibility showed up in the form of a van. “They sent a van to pick me up,” she says. No judgment, no conditions—just a door opening when she needed it most.

What Tracie found at Stepping Stone was a space where she could finally bring her whole self. “Stepping Stone is unique in that it not only provides a social environment to work on sobriety but also sexuality and gender,” she explains. “Both of which are at the center of addiction for many in the LGBTQIA community.” For Tracie, that mattered. Recovery wasn’t just about substance use; it was about identity, survival, and learning how to exist in a world that had often pushed her to the margins. She stayed for 21 months, doing the hard, daily work of rebuilding her life.

Those 21 months unfolded during one of the most painful chapters in LGBTQ history—the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The community around her was facing unimaginable loss, and Stepping Stone became not only a recovery space, but a place of courage and humanity in the face of uncertainty. “To share space with such brave individuals coming to terms with their illness and the realization that death may be imminent—and in many instances it was—gave me such strength and gratitude,” Tracie says. She wasn’t just witnessing recovery; she was witnessing resilience at its most raw. People were fighting for their lives, supporting each other, and finding dignity even in the hardest moments. That environment shaped her, deepened her compassion, and redefined what it meant to survive.

When Tracie completed the program, she carried that experience forward. Inspired by the people she met and the lives she saw up close, she spent the next six years working with an organization that provided daily support to people living with HIV. “I held the hand of many as they left this world,” she says. It’s a quiet, powerful statement that speaks to the depth of care and presence she learned at Stepping Stone. The same place that helped her rebuild her life also taught her how to show up for others in theirs, especially at the end.

Now, as Stepping Stone celebrates 50 years, Tracie’s story stands as part of that legacy—not just as someone who came through the program, but as someone whose life was fundamentally changed by it. For her, the milestone is about impact. It’s about every person who arrives feeling broken, unseen, or out of options, and finds something different waiting for them. “Continue providing a safe and healing space for people that may be broken and hopeless to find their worth,” she says, reflecting on what she hopes for the future. That word—worth—is at the center of everything.

If there’s one WORD that captures both her journey and the spirit of Stepping Stone at 50 years, Tracie doesn’t hesitate: “HOPE.” She thinks back to who she was before that van ride on Christmas Day—“defeated and hopeless, wandering aimlessly in a part of our community people don’t often see, yearning for more out of life.” What Stepping Stone gave her wasn’t just sobriety; it gave her proof that more was possible. “After entering SS and completing the program, I KNOW firsthand the impact Stepping Stone’s program and services have on those of us seeking a better existence.” Fifty years in, that impact is still unfolding—one life, one story, one second chance at a time—and Tracie’s journey is living proof of what can happen when someone is met with compassion exactly when they need it most.