Media: Step Springs
To Open Early
Coverage of Opening Day by the Gazette below. To watch KKTV's coverage click here. To watch Fox21 coverage click here.
‘Addiction destroys everything’: Nonprofit recovery program for men to open earlier than expected
Step Springs, the first replication of Step Denver, is opening Tuesday in a converted office building off East Garden of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs.
The $6.5 million project adds 50 beds for residential addiction treatment and recovery for men who are homeless or otherwise searching for assistance.
That’s six days earlier than the intended Nov. 3 opening, which may not seem like a lot of time. But every second counts for the men who are accepted as residents, said Executive Director Meghan Shay, as she gave a preview of the center on Friday.
The decision to get sober and off drugs and alcohol must be acted on quickly, she said. Because a change of mind, the loss of courage or a deep-seated need can win before the journey to sobriety even begins.
So any man can walk in the door or call the center and within a few hours be assigned a bed and on his way to getting on with his life without the chains of substance use. And there’s no cost to enter.
Andre Podpolucha’s testimony proves the point.
Molested as a child, addicted to crack cocaine at age 13, and hooked on heroine, fentanyl and methamphetamine, Podpolucha found himself standing in the parking lot of Step Denver three years ago. He had been released from a mental hospital after trying to kill himself by shooting up bleach and was living under a bridge in Englewood.
He’d lost a high-profile security job, guardianship of his three children and all hope.
“I didn’t like the person I was,” he said.
While waiting outside Step Denver for intake, his mind told him to run.
“I thought, ‘I’m not gonna stay here.’”
Just then, he was beckoned inside.
“The place was super clean, and everyone was really friendly, and those things got me to stay,” Podpolucha said. “It didn’t feel like a typical rehab facility. It felt more like a home.”
That night, when he heard the support manager’s recovery story, he saw himself in those same shoes. “I felt connected to him, and in that moment, I thought, ‘I want to be like this guy.’”
Today, as the director of operations for both Step Springs and Step Denver, Podpolucha said he gets to show up for other residents and share his own experience of reclaiming his life.
Step Springs, a nonprofit organization, started accepting applications last Monday and has accepted some clients who are ready for a bed, Shay said.
The doors to the new, $6.5 million facility, which was paid for using foundation grants and private donations, open on Oct. 28 at 4525 Northpark Drive.
The 42-year-old model boasts success rates beyond three times the national averages, Shay said. Recent statistics show 92% of men at Step Denver achieved full-time, tax-paying jobs within 45 days of entering the program.
People aren’t turned away, Shay said. Beds continuously open up as clients cycle through the three-phase program, usually in four to six months.
By setting and meeting goals in eight areas, residents graduate from a group dormitory setting with 25 beds to a space with 15 rooms with larger beds and dressers, and finally a separate area with 10 units akin to apartment living and perks such as televisions, music and cellphone privileges.
From being expected to make your bed military-style every morning to being required to work and save 20% of earnings toward self-sufficiency, the program holds participants accountable while providing treatment and skills needed to move beyond addiction.
During the day, residents work in the community at jobs in construction, hospitality, manufacturing, warehouses and retail.
Some were in prison, many were homeless, and some had successful careers before addiction took hold.
“Many are starting from scratch,” Shay said.
In the final phase, men build a relapse-prevention plan and set a budget, secure housing, continue with employment, establish a support system and develop an ongoing recovery strategy.
Six of the 17 employees at Step Springs are alumni of Step Denver, including Mark Ayres, the admissions coordinator. He went through the program nearly seven years ago, after seeing it listed at the detox center he was in.
Calling the program “fantastic,” Ayres said it’s not a lockdown situation but instead allows men the freedom and latitude to return to work and reconnect with their personal lives.
“It does give people structure,” he said. “A lot of people have gotten sloppy in their day-to-day living, and this helps people get back on track and reintegrate back into society. Addiction destroys everything.”
At least two and perhaps more sober-living homes are planned next for Step Springs, Shay said. Denver has six homes each with five sober-living beds.
Step Springs has taken two and a half years to come to fruition, Shay said, from meeting with community leaders and 10 nonprofit organizations that work with homelessness and addiction recovery services to determine the need, to buying and renovating the property.
“There’s a real big need,” she said.