COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A new residential recovery center for men struggling with addiction and homelessness opened on Tuesday in Colorado Springs, offering a comprehensive program designed to help participants rebuild their lives.
Step Springs, located on Northpark Drive off Garden of the Gods Road, is a 50-bed facility that provides the following for unhoused men:
- housing
- job training
- addiction recovery services
The center is a branch of the nonprofit Step Denver, which expanded to Colorado Springs after identifying a need for more addiction recovery services in the area.
"There is hope out there. There are people that care and that you can overcome addiction. That's what Step did for me," said Andre Podpolucha, a Step Denver program graduate.
Podpolucha now works at the new facility in Colorado Springs. He says he's battled drug addiction for nearly 26 years.
"I just became really empty inside. It was like I was alive, but I wasn't living," said Podpolucha.
He tried getting help at 18 different sober centers, but nothing worked long-term.
"After 30 days, I'm back on the streets with nowhere to live. I don't have a job. I just could never stay sober," said Podpolucha.
That's until he found success at Step.
"It does not feel like a typical rehab facility, it feels more like a house," said Podpolucha.
Step Springs is set up to feel more like a home than a traditional rehabilitation facility setting.
The facility provides residents with their own space in a refrigerator and pantry, along with their own bed, nightstand and closet, according to Meghan Shay, Executive Director of Step Springs.
“Making sure that the home is welcoming and that men actually have a place they want to come back to at the end of the day and continue doing the work to recover their lives,” said Shay.
Shay said men in the program live at the facility for four to six months. While at Step, participants can go to their in-house career center to look and apply for jobs.
“There is a full time dedicated career counseling manager who is doing group classes as well as individual career counseling to help men prepare to go out and land a job themselves,” said Shay.
Counselors also help residents obtain driver's licenses and learn basic life skills like cooking and doing laundry. The program also includes peer support groups.
"It's that peer support, right? I'm like, this guy actually knows what I'm going through right now," said Podpolucha.
The peer support helped Podpolucha through his recovery. He learned from other residents and found similarities to his own experiences.
"I could hear the pain, the suffering, and the hopelessness. I related to that instantly," said Podpolucha.
His mentor, Derrick's journey particularly inspired him to complete the program.
"By the end of the meeting, I'm like, I got chills. I'm like, 'I want to do this. I want to be just like this man,'" said Podpolucha.
Podpolucha has been sober for more than three years. He has reconnected with his family and now works at Step Springs, helping other men take their first step in their recovery journey.
"I get to share my story, like Derrick did, with other men now, and hopefully that gives them hope," said Podpolucha.
Step Springs is open and accepting new residents. Men seeking help can call (719)715-2880, or visit the center Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to noon.
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