About Riley Recovery Centers

Riley Recovery Centers was founded from lived experience and a belief that recovery should be accessible, human, and grounded in long-term success — not just short-term solutions. Our goal is to create environments where individuals feel supported, respected, and capable of building meaningful lives beyond treatment.

Justin Luke Riley’s Full Story:

From Addiction and Homelessness to National Recovery Leadership

Early Struggles and the Descent Into Addiction

Justin Luke Riley’s story begins long before he became a national voice for recovery. As an early teenager, he began using substances to cope with pain, insecurity, and the pressures that many young people never speak about. What started as an escape quickly grew into a battle he could not control. By the time he was nineteen, Justin Luke Riley’s addiction had overtaken every part of his life. He found himself homeless—without stability, without a future he believed in, and without the sense that he mattered. These years were marked by despair and isolation, the kind of quiet suffering that so many individuals with substance use disorders face. Justin Luke Riley remembers believing he would not live to see adulthood. He felt lost, ashamed, and convinced that he had run out of chances.

A Treatment Program Offers a Lifeline

Everything changed when Justin Luke Riley was taken in by a local treatment program. For the first time in years, someone saw value in him that he could not yet see in himself. That simple act—opening a door, offering safety, providing structure—became the turning point in his life. Recovery was not easy. It required surrender, honesty, and a willingness to rebuild from the ground up. Justin Luke Riley committed himself fully, showing up day after day to learn, to heal, and to rediscover the person he wanted to become. Through treatment and long-term recovery support, he began experiencing something he had almost forgotten: hope.

Rebuilding a Life Through Recovery

As Justin Luke Riley progressed in recovery, his life began to take shape again. He rebuilt his confidence. He restored relationships. He learned to believe that he had a future. Recovery was not just about removing substances—it was about reclaiming his identity, his worth, and his sense of purpose. He moved into stable housing, reconnected with his community, and began dedicating himself to helping others who were walking the same difficult path he once walked. Justin Luke Riley discovered that his lived experience wasn’t something to hide—it was something that could save lives.

Becoming a National Leader in the Recovery Movement

Motivated by the belief that every person deserves access to support and a second chance, Justin Luke Riley founded Young People in Recovery (YPR), a national organization dedicated to helping young adults sustain recovery and build meaningful lives. Under his leadership, YPR supported tens of thousands of young people and helped raise over $1 billion to expand recovery support services across the country. Justin Luke Riley’s impact reached the national stage. He worked directly with the Obama White House on federal drug and addiction policy, helping shape initiatives aimed at increasing treatment access, reducing stigma, and improving outcomes for individuals and families affected by substance use disorder. His leadership earned him the White House Champion of Change award, one of the highest recognitions for contributions to the recovery field.

A Life Built Around Family, Service, and Purpose

Today, Justin Luke Riley is a person in long-term recovery who continues to live out the values that saved his life. He is married, a father of three beautiful children, and a mentor to leaders across the recovery and behavioral health landscape. His story is not just about transformation—it is about responsibility, service, and the belief that recovery is possible for anyone, given the right opportunity.

Building Treatment Centers That Create Second Chances

Justin Luke Riley’s mission now is deeply personal: building treatment centers that offer the same lifesaving support he once received. Through his leadership and collaboration with organizations like RRC, he is focused on expanding access to high-quality addiction treatment and ensuring that every person, regardless of their circumstances, has the chance to begin again. His story stands as a reminder of what recovery can make possible—a life rebuilt, a family restored, and a commitment to ensuring that others receive the same second chance.

Our Team

Riley Recovery Centers is supported by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, recovery professionals, and support staff. Dr. Jon Snipes is a dual board-certified psychiatrist in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, with expertise in interventional brain stimulation for treatment-resistant conditions. He earned his undergraduate degree from Clemson University and his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where he also completed his psychiatry residency—serving as chief resident in his final year then becoming the inaugural graduate of the United States’ first fellowship in brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression at MUSC, with specialized training in ECT, TMS, DBS, VNS, and ketamine therapies. He brings extensive experience across the full spectrum of addiction medicine, having led a 36-bed inpatient chemical dependency unit, directed outpatient PHP and CD-IOP programs, managed an outpatient medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic, and served as medical director for residential rehabilitation facilities. Today, Dr. Snipes holds dual board certification and continues to serve in multiple leadership capacities, advancing innovative care for complex mental health and substance use disorders.

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