Neopixel program does not work after running rhasspy

Hi,
I am controlling a string of WS2811’s using the neopixel python library (https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi/python-usage)with circuitpython, from a Raspberry Pi 3B+. The code works as expected if I run it after I restart my Pi. I want to run this code with Rhasspy after an intent has been recognized. I’ve written an intent handler in Python, and it works if I feed it the JSON.
However, if I start an instance of Rhasspy, the python code no longer turns the lights on, even though it runs without errors. Even if I stop the Rhasspy instance, the lights do not turn on unless I restart the Pi again. What could be going wrong?