Crystal Rose Waugh Family photo

Crystal Waugh, a former program director of Journey House Recovery in Sanford who advocated for people battling substance use disorder, died Saturday of a possible drug overdose. She was 39.

Waugh was remembered this week as a kind and compassionate woman who dedicated her life to helping others, but couldn’t help herself. Her family said Monday she died of an overdose at her home in Sanford.

Her death comes less than five months after the death of another recovery advocate, Jesse Harvey, who helped found Journey House Recovery and the Church of Safe Injection. He died Sept. 7, 2020, of an overdose.

Waugh joined Journey House as program director of its women’s sober house in Sanford in 2017. Her boyfriend, Eric Skillings, had worked as a program director at its men’s house in Sanford. She left Journey Recovery in May of 2019.

Rob Korobkin, treasurer of the board of the directors for Journey House Recovery, reflected on meeting the recovery trio in the summer of 2018.

“They were solid, working class people who survived nightmares of addiction and turned their lives around,” Korobkin said. “They were working in this very underserved, underprivileged kind of broken community in Sanford to offer 16 beds of recovery housing. They were doing it in a way that was real, compassionate, humble and disciplined. If someone needed a place to live, they would take them in. I was smitten by that. Here were people in the trenches doing the difficult work.”

Crystal Waugh, right, Jesse Harvey and Eric Skillings. Photo provided by Waugh’s family

Waugh also worked as a peer support and recovery specialist at the Sanford Peer Support Center. She was remembered for her kindness and generosity toward women in recovery. She was known to offer beds to women without the means to pay. She counseled and mentored many women who were new to sobriety.

Zoe Fritze, program manager for the Journey House women’s house in South Portland, said Waugh had an impact on many people’s lives, including hers. Fritze said Tuesday when she got sober, it was Waugh who helped her.

“She was someone we all respected very much,” Fritze said. “I got to give her credit for teaching me everything I know about running a sober house. She saved so many of us, but she couldn’t help herself.”

Robert “Bobby” Sheehan, a board member for Journey House who works at the shelter at Milestone Recovery in Portland, said a lot of people in recovery looked up to Waugh.

“She was awesome,” Sheehan said. “She was a great spokesperson for recovery. She was doing really good stuff with the women in the house. … It’s just too bad. It’s so hard for people to get help with the pandemic and everything. There should be more people like her, but there should be more help. When someone does well like that and messes up, it’s so much harder to ask for help because now, they’re someone’s hero. There’s shame and guilt around that.”

Waugh grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a daughter of Joanne Goodreau of Sanford and Kevin Waugh of Lawrence. She also leaves a brother, Michael Henderson of Saco. She died on her brother’s birthday. She is also survived by her daughter, Bryanna Waugh of Lawrence.

Waugh briefly attended Bonny Eagle High School before moving back to Lawrence. She graduated from the adult education program at Greater Lawrence Adult Learning Center.

She moved to Maine about five years ago and was a member of New Beginnings Christian Church in Sanford.

Goodreau said her daughter always wanted to take care of people. At one point, she took classes to become a certified nursing assistant, she said.

“She was caring and wanted to save everybody, which is sad because in the end she didn’t save herself,” her mother said.

Waugh’s decline came about two years ago after her boyfriend broke his back in a work accident, according to her mother. Goodreau said her daughter relapsed on his pain medication. She said her daughter recently talked about returning to Massachusetts to get sober.

Goodreau talked openly about their relationship, noting it was rough at times. As Goodreau was recovering from COVID-19, Waugh called frequently to check on her.

“I knew she was struggling,” Goodreau said, breaking down in tears. “I knew it. I was trying so hard to fix our relationship. I didn’t want to say anything out of fear of fighting with her. I knew she was in a rough place. I didn’t want to fight with her because we were doing so good … I feel bad. I do miss her already. “

Korobkin said she was there to help those in recovery who are suffering. He said her death is a big loss to the recovery community.

“It’s a horrible loss,” Korobkin said. “Two-thirds of the people who started Journey House are now dead. When someone is suffering, you know the goodness is still in them. You hold out hope that they will come around and come back to the person you know they can be. I really believe so long as you are alive you have another chance. I held out hope they would turn this around … maybe Eric will.”