E26: Compassionate Addiction Treatment: How Porch Light Health is Saving Lives in Colorado

Finding the light when darkness seems overwhelming—that's the mission behind Porch Light Health, a beacon of hope in addiction recovery throughout Colorado.

Steve Carleton joins the Good Neighbor Podcast to share how Porch Light Health (formerly Front Range Clinic) has revolutionized addiction treatment in Colorado over the past decade. Their specialized approach using medication-assisted treatment—particularly Suboxone for opioid addiction—has contributed to a remarkable 30% reduction in overdose deaths statewide. But what makes their work truly powerful goes beyond statistics.

"We call ourselves Porch Light  because we want to be the last light on in the neighborhood," Steve explains, highlighting their philosophy of acceptance without judgment. Unlike treatment centers that might turn away challenging cases, Porch Light  welcomes everyone exactly as they are. This harm reduction approach recognizes addiction's complex roots in trauma, mental health struggles, and circumstance—not simply poor choices.

Steve's personal connection to addiction through loved ones who've struggled gives him unique insight into the journey their clients face. This understanding translates into Porch Light 's commitment to immediate care—typically within 24 hours of reaching out—recognizing that the moment someone decides to seek help can be fleeting. With comprehensive services including psychiatric care for depression and anxiety, plus individual and group therapy, they address the whole person, not just the addiction.

Whether you're in Fort Collins, elsewhere in Colorado, or even in an underserved rural area, Porch Light Health has made accessibility a priority through mobile units and pop-up clinics. Ready to take that first step toward recovery? Call 866-MAT-STAT or visit https://porchlight health.com/ to find your way back to light.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need ofcompassionate and effective
addiction treatment services?
Today, I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
steve Carlton, with Porch LightHealth Steve, how's it going?
Porchlight Health, steve, how'sit going?
It's going great.
Good to be with you.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business?

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Tell us about your addiction treatment center?
Yeah, I'd love to.
So, first off.
So we're known as PorchlightHealth.
Now We've been in the FortCollins area for over a decade
now and most people know us asFront Range Clinic.
We've expanded and offerservices throughout the state,
and so people on the WesternSlope don't like Front Range
Clinic as much, so we've movedto Porchlight Health is how

(00:56):
we're known, but in our clinicswe were started by family
practice docs at the beginningof the opioid crisis, and we're
known as your go-to provider formedication for addiction
treatment.
And so what is that?
Basically, when you're talkingabout opiates and we're talking
about heroin and, more commonlynow, when you're talking about

(01:16):
fentanyl, the best and mosteffective treatment for helping
people and getting them back toa better quality of life is a
medication called Suboxone orBuprenorphine, and that is
that's something that we've hada ton of success.
You know Portside Health.
We have been a huge contributorto this 30 percent drop in

(01:39):
opioid overdose deaths thatwe've seen in the last year, so
we're doing a lot of great work.
In addition to that, we offerpsychiatric services for people
that are also struggling withdepression, anxiety, and then we
obviously offer individual andgroup therapy as well, just to
give people that communityconnection and wraparound
support.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
How did you get into this business?

Speaker 3 (02:08):
get into this business.
Oh, you know it's a longwinding tale there, nick, but
one of my first jobs wasactually on a Coors Light beer
truck and so I was back in Texas.
But I've been in and aroundaddiction personally and
professionally for my whole lifeand I think you know the thing
for me is, yeah, the people Ilove most in the world sort of

(02:29):
have struggled with addiction,and so it's something that I
understand.
I haven't had that problemmyself, very fortunately, but it
is something that I understandand and just have a passion for
doing.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?

Speaker 3 (02:47):
Myths or misconceptions so lots.
So it's specifically withmedication for addiction
treatment that we do.
People commonly think about itthat suboxone or buprenorphine
is trading one drug for another.
Right, addiction is much biggerthan just taking a substance.

(03:09):
Right Addiction is marked by aloss of control.
Right, like, people can'tcontrol how much, how often
they're having significantsocial occupational consequences
and they're doing things thatare very risky.
And so when you get onmedication for addiction
treatment, we're eliminatingthose first three large

(03:31):
components of addiction.
Right, we're eliminating thataspect of it.
When you're coming and you'regetting a medication that
doesn't have a significantpsychoactive, like, you don't
get high on this medication, andso that's the biggest
misconception about it.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Who are your?
Forgive me for the use of theword customer who is your target
customers?
Sure.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
Who would you?

Speaker 2 (03:54):
like to reach out to that aren't being reached out to
Our client population.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, our client population are people that are
struggling with addiction.
They're struggling withsubstance use disorder, and I
think that this goes along withthe previous question.
When you're thinking aboutaddiction, oftentimes people
just think about this populationof people as they're just
making bad decisions, right.

(04:17):
They just don't know inherentlyhow to do the right thing.
And I think you know ourclients have typically had some
pretty significant events comeup in their life, right.
They've had trauma in theirchildhood.
They're struggling withdepression, anxiety.
They've had a lot of familymembers who have used and been
exposed to substances at a youngage.

(04:39):
There's lots of ways that peopleget addicted, but sort of this
willful idea that they're justcareening and setting out to
become addicted is not one ofthem.
So people that have haddifficulty challenge, I think,
porch light.
We're really known as we callourselves porch light because we
want to be kind of the lastlight on the neighborhood to

(04:59):
people.
A lot of our clients have beenkicked out of other treatment
facilities, right.
They have not been welcomed inother programs and we are a
place that really pridesourselves on harm reduction.
We accept people in anonjudgmental way.
You can come as you are and wewill accept you and we will work
to support you and help you, nomatter what the circumstances.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Oh, all sorts of stuff.
You know I'm a Coloradan now,so I fly fish, I ski.
I'm a professor at theUniversity of Denver, so I teach
.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
And yeah, and then I have a 9 and a 12-year-old.
That keep me pretty busy.
Let's switch gears.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you
overcame and how it made youstronger?
What?

Speaker 3 (05:51):
comes to mind.
Oh, sure, you know I think I'vehad a lot, like I mentioned
earlier, sort of like havingfriends and family, sort of
struggle with addiction andmental health.
Yeah, definitely, definitelychanged me, and you know in my
one of the statistics that it isMental Health Awareness Month
in May and one of the thingsthat is good to remind people

(06:15):
about in this month is that halfof us at some point in our
lifetime are going to strugglewith a mental health issue.
One out of two.
It's a significant number, andso you know I was no different
in my late teens.
It's a significant number, andso you know I was no different
in my late teens and I wasreally fortunate to find Outward
Bound and go and do somewilderness work and then go on

(06:37):
to work at Outward Bound forfive years leading wilderness
expeditions and yeah, thatreally changed me and led me to
find this career path andhelping and working directly
with people.

Speaker 2 (06:50):
Please tell our listeners one thing they should
remember about porch lighthealth.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
One thing to remember is that we have, uh, our.
Our biggest mission is toprovide easy access to care.
So if you call us at866-MAT-STAT, um, uh, other than
Sundays, we're open Mondaythrough Saturday somewhere, and
we pride ourselves in gettingpeople in within 24 hours, right

(07:17):
when you have an addiction.
We want to make sure people getrapid access to care.
We don't want people to have towait, because that moment in
time when you're ready to gethelp can be really fleeting, and
we want to make sure we providethat help right when people ask
for it.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Could you spell out that number again and tell us
any other way that listeners canlearn more about Porchlight
Health online?

Speaker 3 (07:36):
Absolutely.
It's 866-MATSTAT, M-A-T-S-T-A-T.
And then PorchlightHealthcom isanother great way to find us.
And whether you're in FortCollins or anywhere in Colorado,
great way to find us.
And whether you're in FortCollins or anywhere in Colorado,
we have clinics everywhere inthe state and we serve lots of
rural communities as well, sopeople that wouldn't otherwise

(07:59):
have access to therapy or psychservices are met in communities
where there's not a lot ofproviders.
We have ways to connect withpeople with mobile units and
other pop-up clinics as well.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, Steve, I really appreciate you being on the
show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Thank you, Nick.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.