Chip’s Ride to Recovery and Service
Restoring One License Gives Thousands a Second Chance
Chip (left) with Pisgah Legal Attorney Ed Treat leaning against one of Chip’s Wings to Recovery vehicles.
Every morning, Chip grabs the same thing most people do before heading to work: his wallet and driver’s license. For most of us, it’s routine. For Chip, that small piece of plastic made an entirely new life possible.
As President/CEO of Wings to Recovery, Chip leads a team of Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS) — people with lived experience in recovery who help others navigate mental health and substance use treatment. Their work often begins in moments of crisis, transporting people to treatment centers when they may be scared, resistant, or unsure they want help at all.
“One of the biggest roadblocks for people getting help when they’re trying to get clean and sober is transportation,” said Chip.
Chip knows all about the struggle to overcome that roadblock, only he didn’t have to go through it alone. Chip faced multiple barriers after incarceration, and it was with the help of Pisgah Legal Services that he finally got his license restored. It’s what enables him and his team to now spend hours on the road listening, encouraging, and offering hope through shared experiences.
“For a long time in my life, I used to be a taker,” said Chip. “I would steal, I would lie, I would cheat. Now I’m a giver, and it’s one little thing that I can do to make up for what I did in my past. It’s a little thing. Just giving a ride and taking that caring, compassion, and understanding and transferring it to that person.”
The Chip of Today
Today, Chip is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, serves on the Post-Overdose Response Team in Henderson County, and has built Wings to Recovery into a growing business with a 20-vehicle fleet across the Southeast and Midwest and contracts with about 67 different treatment centers.
Last year alone, the organization transported more than 1,700 people to treatment, and Chip continues to work on expanding nationwide as he builds his network of Certified Peer Support Specialists.
Six years ago, Chip’s future looked very different.
Overcoming Barriers
After years of struggling with addiction and committing crimes to support his habit, Chip turned himself into the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
“I said, ‘I’m done. Let’s go. Send me to prison. I need a break.’ It’s pretty bad when you think of prison as a vacation or a break from reality,” said Chip.
In total, Chip has spent 20 years in prison and has 56 felonies on record and 13 driving violations across four states. Chip faced the same barriers many people with criminal records encounter: few job opportunities, limited support, and no driver’s license. Restoring it required navigating multiple states and paying thousands in fines and fees — something he couldn’t manage on his own.
That changed when Pisgah Legal Services Attorney Ed Treat connected with Chip through Operation Gateway founder Philip Cooper. Chip became one of the first clients in Pisgah Legal’s Driver’s License Restoration and Expunction Program and the first Ed worked with while the client was still incarcerated. This was only possible because of the connections Philip had that allowed Ed to work through the prison system.
“It’s something Philip says,” said Ed. “If you’re the one to give somebody that chance, you get loyalty from them long-term because they remember that you rolled the dice on them when no one else would.”
One Small Thing Can Lead to a Chain Reaction
Ed tackled the legal hurdles: Chip missed court dates while incarcerated that triggered a Failure to Appear (FTA) suspension in Buncombe County. Ed reached out to the DA’s office, who agreed to dismiss the underlying charge and lift the FTA suspension with no fines, fees, or court appearance.
For a speeding ticket with unpaid fines in South Carolina, Ed was able to pay the fines by mail using a Debt Relief Fund.
Chip had another FTA suspension in Transylvania County. Through Pisgah Legal’s Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer (MAVL) Program, Ed had a volunteer lawyer appear in court on Chip’s behalf. He was able to obtain dismissal and lift the suspension, saving Chip around $800 in fines and fees and eliminating the need for travel to another county. Chip was stunned that a lawyer had done all of that for free.
With those barriers removed, Chip was able to pay the DMV restoration fees on his own, obtain insurance, and borrow a car for the road test. When he finally got his driver’s license restored, it changed everything.
“When you make a decision to change your life, it’s hard to get people to believe you or have faith in you or give you that little ounce of trust that you need to encourage you to keep doing the right things,” said Chip. “But Ed was an important part of it. I had a picture of my license after I got it out of the DMV, and I sent it to Ed.”
“Changing Lives One Ride at a Time”
Today, Chip hires people in long-term recovery because they can connect to clients on a level that others cannot. Wings to Recovery has a 99% success rate in getting clients into treatment, and Chip continues expanding the organization nationwide.
The impact of one restored driver’s license goes far beyond Chip himself. Every ride his team gives is another chance for recovery and hope.
“Sometimes one of the hardest things for somebody is to get in the car and leave everything you know behind,” said Chip.
| “The cornerstone of our business is driving. We wouldn’t be able to do anything that we do now if I didn’t have a license.” |
Months later, former clients call to tell him that they’re doing well and that Chip was right about things getting better. And it all goes back to one small piece of plastic. Once Pisgah Legal removed barriers and helped Chip restore his license, that opened the door to other opportunities, including a business that now helps others.
“The cornerstone of our business is driving,” said Chip. “We wouldn’t be able to do anything that we do now if I didn’t have a license.”