Pain, purpose and polka dots

Joe Brady ’80 graduated from the University of Dayton with a degree in marketing and management, lifelong friends and a heart full of Flyer pride. After graduation, he entered corporate America, building a fruitful career in business before retiring earlier this year. But for Brady, metrics of success don’t look like retirement funds or a corporate ladder; in fact, he doesn’t measure life by success at all.

“Forget success — go be significant,” he said. “Go make a difference in the lives of others.”

“Forget success — go be significant. Go make a difference in the lives of others.”

For Brady, that philosophy took on a new meaning in August 2021 when his daughter, Brianna, died from an opioid relapse.

Brianna began struggling with substance use disorder in 2019. She entered treatment two years later and completed the 60-day recovery program. But in the wake of COVID-19, doors to essential recovery housing closed, leaving her without access to resources for the support she needed.

A month after Brianna’s death, as he tucked his granddaughter into bed, Brady asked her what she would dream about.

Four-year-old Alexis replied, “I’m going to dream about unicorns and polka dots, because that’s what me and Mommy used to dream about.”

“I’m going to dream about unicorns and polka dots, because that’s what me and Mommy used to dream about.”

Her words became a call to action, and purpose emerged from the family’s pain — Brady began meeting with experts in addiction and recovery to understand the gaps in the system. A common theme emerged: people in recovery often struggle with a loss of self-worth, self-esteem and self-confidence — challenges that go further than the surface of sobriety.

From that realization, Unicorns and Polka Dots was born.

The nonprofit based in Greater Cleveland supports individuals who are in or considering recovery from substance use disorder. A council of men and women with at least one year of sobriety serves as the program's mentors, working in the community to identify where support is needed. Brady then uses their feedback to develop workshops and initiatives that go beyond “getting clean” to address the root issues that make long-term recovery so difficult.

Where current systems fail to support individuals beyond initial treatment, Unicorns and Polka Dots, Brady said, “provides the wraparound services and the safety net to say, ‘Hey, we got you from here, and we’re going to support you and strengthen your self-confidence, self-worth and self-esteem so you don’t go backward, you keep moving forward.’"

“We don’t label those with substance use disorder; we work to understand them. We help to rebuild identity.”

So far, the organization has worked with more than 700 men and women in recovery and held more than 25 workshops — including on topics such as networking and relationship-building, self-defense, financial literacy, credit recovery, fitness and nutrition, art therapy, overcoming fear and career development.

Through this work, Brady has seen firsthand the stigma surrounding addiction and the urgent need for recovery resources. Substance use disorder, he emphasized, is not a moral failing or a lack of willpower. It is a disease that rewires the brain’s chemistry — and overcoming it requires community, intentionality and support.

“We often hear people say that people struggling with addiction have to hit rock bottom before they do something, and I never believed in [that]. Rock bottom can be death. Perhaps if we all work together as a community, maybe we should be raising the bottom up a little bit instead of waiting for somebody to hit [it],” said Brady.

Brady’s efforts are shifting the narrative, providing essential support and helping to rewrite the stories of so many people — like Brianna.

“I do it in her honor,” Brady said. “And we’re making a huge difference. It really feels good.”

Visit unicorns-polkadots.org for more information.

Photo courtesy Jeani Brechbill Photography.

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 32. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE