Step Denver

We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Step resident and staff member Austin! He shared how his addiction started, the role Step played in getting him back on track, and his thoughts on becoming Step’s Weekend Facility Coordinator a few months ago:

“I started using and drinking when I was around 13. I was a skateboarder, so I was very rebellious to society. I liked the punk outlook to it and just liked to have fun – or what I thought was fun. Eventually, I started having psychosis from the drugs, which really drove me deeper into addiction.

“At one point I got sober on my own, but ended up relapsing and lost everything – burnt all my bridges. I had three attempts on my life. That’s what led me to Step – pure desperation.

“I learned accountability here. I learned a lot about myself and my defects.

“This program put a fire under me. I never used to make my bed; I never had a savings account – I’m learning a lot of discipline."

On the support network that Austin has built since coming here:

“Most of my contacts now are ‘Step’ this or ‘Step’ that – if I ever need someone to talk to, I just type in Step on my phone and I’ve got a huge list.

“Today, I can call my mom and she’ll answer, because she knows that I’m not looking for a handout. We’re mending our relationship for sure.”

On the role that working for Step has played in his life:

“I'm super proud to be on this road - to be at Step Denver. I'm grateful and proud to be of service, working with the team that helped me so much and rewired my mind - just transformed the way I think.”

Austin’s final thoughts on the program:

“It does take a lot of hard work - it’s a tough program - but if you can go through the whole program, when you leave you shouldn't have a tough time with actual life.

“I heard one person say that in addiction we sacrificed everything for one thing, and now all we have to do is sacrifice that one thing for everything.”

A huge shoutout to everyone who joined us for Cakes and Coins last night - three guys celebrated one year of sobriety, with one man picking up two years!

We recently got to sit down with Step resident Ed to hear his story:

“I've been drinking since I was 15. It got to the point where I was drinking a bottle or two a day.

“I went to my first 12-step program, and I remember hearing a guy talk about his life and how he had lost everything - and how much better his life had become since he’d gotten sober. In that moment I decided that I'd become an alcoholic, and that I wanted to live.

“As fate would have it, I got here and this is the program that worked for me. It's almost like there was divine intervention guiding me along the way to end up here. I needed guidance and regimen, and Step definitely provided that.

As Ed started looking for jobs, he quickly realized that he would have to branch out from his past career of engineering.

“My RSM (Recovery Support Manager) said, ‘engineering was causing you a lot of stress. That may be what lead to the habits that you had created.’

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh man, this is what I do. This is what I know.’

“I probably put in a hundred applications to other jobs. As fate would have it, one day I felt totally defeated and I decided I was just going to take the day off from looking for a job.

“As I was waiting in line for samples at Costco, they had a little napkin holder right there and it said, ‘Need a job?’

“I got an interview, and was hired on the spot. I started getting really good at it.

“After six months, I had an opportunity from a friend to get back into engineering.

“It just so happened that the same exact day I found out I didn't get that engineering job, I got promoted. I've learned to trust now that when these little circumstances like that happen, a lot of times I don't really believe they're coincidence anymore.

“I'm a senior supervisor at Costco now. I'm the second in command under only the manager, with a team of 56 people.”

Ed also shared some other areas of his life that have improved since coming to Step.

“I've been writing a book for seven years. I finally finished it and published it. In six months of sobriety, I finished what I couldn't finish in seven years of drunken stupor.

“My connection to God has grown astronomically to something that I never even knew could exist. I feel that connection all the time now, almost every day.

“I have never, in my adult life, felt this way. But I had never been sober long enough to build any kind of connection.

“I'm happier - like, truly happier. I would say that in the past, I might have been happy maybe 5% of the time. Now, I'm happy 95% of the time.

“One of the most dangerously deceiving parts of addiction is that it narrows your life so much that it's almost impossible at times to see a way out. And when that happens, it's really easy to lose hope. But if you're still alive, then there IS still hope.

“Some of life's greatest journeys begin with just taking one single step.”

"Without drugs and alcohol, I actually feel like I have a life that's worth living."

Step resident, Travis, who recently got a promotion and moved into a Step Sober Home, shared with us how proud he is of what he's been able to accomplish since coming to Step:

"Now that I'm not spending the little money that I had left over from when I was getting paid on drugs and alcohol, I can actually have some stability - that reduces a lot of stress and anxiety.

"When I lived here in Denver initially, I spent four and a half years interviewing for a supervisor position and never got it. So to have that happening, just in three, four months, you know, tells me that I'm experiencing dramatic change.

"Now that I'm sober, I'm finding that things that I struggled with to accomplish are coming more easy to me, and that gives me a lot of confidence because that will carry me to where I really want to be."

Travis also shared some advice for those entering the program:

"If you're going to choose to come to this program, commit to it with the fullness of your being in your mind. Don't take a half measure.

"This is your life that is at stake here. Your freedom - your happiness."

This past weekend the guys got to enjoy a co****le tournament, some great food, and a front row seat to the Rockies fireworks show! Living in the Ballpark Neighborhood definitely has its perks.

Thank you so much for the highlight! We're grateful for all the support you've provided our men over the years as they work to rebuild their lives. Thanks for the difference you have made in our community, as well as so many others.

Happy 4th of July!

While we celebrate our nation's 250 years of independence this weekend, our residents get to celebrate a different kind of freedom — freedom from addiction.

Yesterday's Cakes and Coins meeting was extra special: our own Weekday Facility Coordinator Nate picked up a chip for one year of sobriety! It's amazing that we get to celebrate the residents putting in work on a daily basis to create lasting change.

Wishing all of you who celebrate a very Happy Father's Day!

Tim, pictured below celebrating his sobriety at Step with his children present, shared, "Being a father is a true gift in life. It always gives me a reason to keep growing and to seek the best out of myself."

We asked a few residents how their addiction impacted their relationship with their children:

"In my active addiction, drugs came before anyone and anything else. I destroyed my relationship with my son," said Alex.

"It strained my relationship with them. They were teenagers so they understood what was happening," shared Randy.

Tim said, "Addiction blinded me from my purpose as a father; it stole precious moments I can't ever retrieve."

Then we asked the men how Step has changed how they show up as a father:

"This place has helped me be better and do better as a man and as a father. Once you get clarity, everything falls into suit!" - Nick

Alex said, "Step Denver has given me the tools to maintain sobriety, structure, and stability to become an efficient individual".

Robert told us that "by teaching me to get and keep a positive outlook and routine in life, in turn I can show up for them in many more important ways than just a 'financial provider.' I have to use tools that I have learned at my time at Step to persevere for my daughters."

A big thank you to all the fathers out there for all that you do!

One of our past residents became a monthly donor for Step Springs and we wanted to share what he had to say with you:

Louie once arrived at Step Denver with nothing but 45 days sober and guidance that he’d have to want to change. He did — and he completed the program in 2024.

Two years later, 924 days sober, he called to set up a monthly gift. His reason is simple: he wants men in Colorado Springs to have the same chance he did.

Each week, residents in orientation - their first five days in the program - hear the message Louie included with his gift:

"I’m happy knowing there’s a program for helping those who want to truly change. Something I heard once, 'I’m not going to push your car for you, but if I see you pushing your car by yourself, I’ll go out of my way to help you.' That’s what Step represents to me."

It's amazing that our residents get to see that there are complete strangers in the community that believe in them and support them - and they get to hear their words of encouragement right as they begin to get into a routine, look for jobs, and start to rebuild their lives.