Our Mission

End the addiction relapse cycle

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We are a 501(c)3 non-profit social enterprise that is an accessory company creating beautiful, one of a kind bags from upcycled fabrics, handcrafted by women who are winning their fight against addiction.

Since 2016, 94% of our employees have maintained their sobriety.

When you shop at Unshattered, you are offering women a combination of community, employment, and personal development giving them the opportunity to find their purpose and live an addiction-free life.

The average age that the women on our team began using substances is 11 years old. 

One began as early as age 5 at the hands of her father who provided alcohol in order to abuse her. One began at age 8 when a 15 year old neighbor thought it would be funny to see her get high. Often women’s journeys with addiction begin because they have experienced molestation and/or sexual violence. Substance abuse was a way to numb the tremendous trauma they have experienced. Overcoming addiction means facing the multiple layers of pain that have long been concealed or buried. Acknowledging this and moving forward to take responsibility for choices made requires courage, support of a community, pathways to economic independence and meaningful ways to rebuild a life.

After completing a substance abuse recovery program, then what? We are solving the critical need for a next step

When someone has completed a substance abuse recovery program, there is rarely a viable next step. Most individuals lack job skills, education, or most importantly a safe community to return home to. Unshattered focuses on the “then what?” solution for women overcoming trauma by paving the road between recovery and long term sobriety.

Relapse often leads to an overdose, frequently fatal

Preventing relapse takes work. In the population of opiate users, it is estimated that greater than 80+% relapse after going through recovery. According to the CDC, more than 107,500 Americans died of an overdose in 2023. A safe community and valuable work can be the difference between life and death.

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Addiction is the story of pain not a story of substance

When going back is not an option, we must pave a way forward.

After studying the journeys of women in recovery, Kelly Lyndgaard realized that a pathway to economic recovery is just as essential as the physical and psychological healing from addiction. Even with the strongest desires to stay sober, individuals who complete recovery programs yet lack job skills and/or sufficient education are highly likely to return to the community where they were previously using and relapse. This fact led her to founding the 501(c)3 nonprofit social enterprise called Unshattered. At Unshattered, we pave the road between recovery and long-term sobriety.

Employment and community are key to ending relapse.

Unshattered does more than just offer jobs. We are a community of like-minded women, who are expressing our value and purpose through work, and are committed to ongoing personal and professional development. We wrap our work week around a curriculum designed to inspire each woman to her highest possible level of success. Employees spend 10% of their paid hours receiving personal and professional education to help them grow and thrive.

Our premium handbags are a tangible representation of our employee’s life stories

Each Unshattered handbag and accessory is unique and each has a story, like the women who make them. Honoring the Japanese art form of Kintsugi, where cracked pottery is repaired with gold lacquer to highlight the breaks, each of our bags has a seam of gold thread. The practical solution of Kintsugi became a beautiful form of art and serves as a metaphor for the women makers of our bags, who are themselves more beautiful for having been broken.
Read Stories of Possibility from Women on Our Team
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KIMBERLY

"I started putting meth in my orange juice when I was 10 because that's what my mom and grandma did every morning."

For anyone who's watched someone you love struggle to achieve sobriety only to have it end in a relapse, or worse, Unshattered is the lifeline that proves it's possible to survive and thrive after addiction.