COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — There's a resource in the Denver metro area for those struggling with substance abuse.
Stout Street Foundation in Commerce City offers a long-term residential recovery program for those seeking help, and there are jobs in the the community lined up for them.
Because of that, there are no up-front costs.
In March, 25 people graduated from the program, according to Diedre Tygart, the Stout Street Foundation director of admissions and outreach.
"When they reach the final six months of their program, if that employer wants to hire them and they want that job, they get to take that job on with them, into the sober living portion of our program," Tygart said.
She completed the program herself in 2002.
"I went so far into my addiction that I ended up with 11 felonies pending against me in three different counties. I had to beg judges to send me to Stout Street. Instead of sending me to prison for 18 years to life, I got to Stout Street. And about six months into my program, I realized I was where I belonged," Tygart said.
Now, she helps people facing similar battles.
"I think being able to watch people get it, being able to be a part of that process for them, I don't, I don't save people's lives. They save their own lives. But it's really amazing to be a part of the process and to open those doors and then watch them walk through them, watching them start to understand their importance," Tygart said.
Not everyone who comes through the program, she said, is court ordered.
"I think a lot of them are previously unhoused. I know that I came here basically homeless. You know, I was couch surfing when I came to the program. And I think many of us come here that way," Tygart said. "We do have a lot of people that come in here that are not homeless. We have people that come from other treatment facilities. We have people that come from home. We have people that you know their families are like, okay, you've been here with us long enough, and you need to get help so we're going to get you to this place."
The foundation puts their number on clothing items they give out to unhoused individuals just in case they have an "aha" moment, according to Tygart.
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