Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want to start my next interview by reading an email,
because I got this email last week and I just
want to.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Share it with you.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The subject line you helped save my life. My name
is William Farrow Bill. I called you on March twenty third,
twenty twenty two, live on the air. I was an
alcoholic and homeless, living in my truck, and I had
no hope for a future as far as I could see.
The discussion you were having was about addiction and homelessness
and what the answer to the problem was. I briefly
(00:29):
explained how I was homeless, struggling with my own addiction
was living in my truck. You told me about a
woman you had interviewed the previous year in the organization
she was in charge of, called The Other Side Academy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Her name is Lolas Strong.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I went to that program and you did an interview
with me on the air while I was waiting to
be accepted. You said you'd like to do an interview
when I completed the program. I'm currently still here and
I'm thriving. My graduation date is fast approaching, and I
was reaching out to you in the hopes that you
still wanted to do an interview with myself and the
Man director Lola. I would like to share my struggles
with addiction and homelessness, but more importantly, how the Other
(01:05):
Side Academy has saved my life and people just like me.
This program is one of the hardest things that I've
ever done in my life. It's like nothing else in
this world. Lola Strong is an amazing woman. She saw
hope and potential in a fifty three year old man
when I thought there was no hope for.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Me, only suicide.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
My plans are to stay here and become a staff
member once I graduate, which means I am choosing to
stay longer to achieve that goal. I'm giving you her number.
I'm not able to have a cell phone yet, but
this is my email account and I just want to
thank you because I would not be here, breathing and
thriving with a positive future ahead of me if it
weren't for that fateful phone call and your suggestion of
(01:46):
the Other Side Academy and joining me now in the studio,
Bill and Lola Strong from the Other Side Academy.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Bill, Dude, you got me. I cried when I read
this email.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm going to cry now because so often I sit
here and I do the show, and every once in
a while, I get a call from someone who's just
in a bad way. It could be a situation where
their life is just not doing well, and I always
try to give them a way to move forward. And
then they go away, and I don't know what happened,
(02:18):
and I don't know if they move forward, and I
don't know if.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
They got their life together. I don't know if they're dead.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
To be perfectly honest, and I told you and Lula outside,
I was talking about step Denver and the Other Side
Academy because I think both programs are just doing God's
work and deserve our support and our appreciation.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And I thought about you. I thought about the guy
that called me.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I couldn't remember your name, And I said, that guy
that called me, I wonder if everything is okay. And
then I was going to call the Other Side Academy,
but I'm like, they can't tell me anything. That's like
a hip of thing. So I was just kind of wondering.
So when I got this email, it made me so happy.
First of all that I was able to push you
in a direction, but second of all.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You took it. Tell me about that day and what
made you call this show?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Oh god, it was cold. I remember the day it was.
It was cold, it was snowing, and I had just
gotten to a point where I I didn't see anything.
I didn't see any future. I was you know, we
always hear rock bottom, but I was at rock bottom.
I mean, it was the same routine for me every day.
(03:25):
I was slowly I came to realize that I was
slowly killing myself. I'd get up, I'd go to work,
and I drink. You know, I was living in my truck.
There would be days where I didn't have money to
put gas in it, and it was cold, so I
would drink myself to sleep. Sometimes wision I would just
not wake up, just freeze to death, you know, dreading
waking up the next morning and starting all over again,
(03:45):
you know. And I just it got to the points
where I knew I needed help. And I did listen
to your show, and I would remember you interviewing Lola.
I couldn't remember that. I think I was calling the
Dark Side Academy something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I did be called the Light Slide Academy, but.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, you know, and I remembered, and I remember you
telling me. You gave me the number and you told
me you better call, and I called Lola that night.
I was actually pretty intoxicated the day that I called.
And I called Lola that night, actually right when I
got off the air with you, and she gave me
a brief interview, basically told me to sober up coming
(04:23):
the next day. And I don't know, I think I
called her a dozen times that night. She finally, you know,
let me know, just go to sleep, keep it off.
And that's what I did, you know. And the next
morning I got up because I had told my daughter
what I was going to do, and she actually called
me and woke me up and I said, God, Dad,
are you still going to that place? And I said,
(04:43):
I started. She's like, no, You're going to do it, Dad.
You promised me, so one of the few promises I
ever kept.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So tell me about the program and how I mean,
kind of walk me through your own experience. You check
in I'm imagining that you were detoxing.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, I mean for me, I stayed there eight months
and left and had to restart all over again. So
I've been there.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Let me ask Lola question that's not super uncommon. No,
it's not that there are bumps in the road to recovery.
So I want to be clear that that's not a
crazy thing to have happen.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, but for somebody to stay that long and leave
most of the time, it's earlier. And I just I
couldn't get up my own way. It was my ego.
I thought I had everything figured out, and I didn't,
you know. And she kept telling me. She told me
that morning. When I decided, I told her I'm done,
I'm leaving. She told me exactly what was going to happen.
And I didn't listen. And as soon as I left,
(05:42):
everything that she started telling me was going to happen happen.
And I remember I called her at four or five
o'clock in the morning. I was getting ready to make
a very very bad decision, potentially want to put me
in prison for the rest of my life. And I
told her, Lola, I need to come home, you know,
And she said, come home.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So what are the what are the sort of things
that you've sorted out or you've worked through as a
part of this program. Because your alcoholism did not start
because you picked up a beer. There's all kinds of
other stuff going on and that led you down that path.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I would say for me, it was probably owning some
of the stuff that I had done throughout my life.
You know, there's very violent pass with me walking out
of two marriages, you know, with kids, because I wanted
what I wanted, not man enough to face that kind
of stuff and being at the other side of cat
(06:36):
and not only that, but letting go ass some stuff
that wasn't mine to carry, right you know in my
past that I've carried that's really not mine, you know,
that belongs to other people. And in doing that, it's
you know, it's I'm I'm held accountable for the things
that I've done, you know, and other people in my
life are held accountable for the things that they've done.
(06:57):
And for me, it's it's finding some peace.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It's going to be a little I mean, you have
to feel a little lighter, especially when you offload the
things that are not your responsibility, and that allows you
to really take accountability for the stuff that you do.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Own, right, absolutely absolutely, And Lola was there. I Mean
sometimes some of the stuff that I needed to be
held accountable for I didn't want and I think that
was part of the reason why I left, because I
knew it was coming, you know, and I didn't I
didn't want to face it, you know. And being out
there and realizing that what she told me was correct,
(07:30):
you know, and not being gone even ten hours the
decision that I was confronted with to make, and I'm
just like, I can't do this. I'm not going to
throw my life away. They were right everything that I'd
been taught and told, because sometimes you're told some stuff
that you really don't want to hear in a way
that you don't want to hear it, but you need
to hear it right, you know. And I know that.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
And I've always thought this, and I've been really lucky
in my life that I've never struggled with addiction myself personally.
It's not that I was not, you know, drinking too
much at certain times in my life or something like that,
but I've never had to deal with that addiction component.
But it seems to me that the people that I
have known and loved who have been addicts of various sorts,
(08:15):
they were all on the run mentally from something, and
so they used drugs or alcohol to tamp down the
kind of things that you're talking about now that were
so they felt so overwhelming to even even just manage it,
to even just deal with it on any level, that
they used drugs or alcohol to escape, right. And so
(08:37):
to hear you say this and admit that you know,
I tell my daughter all the time. My daughter's fifteen,
and I didn't learn this until I was like five
years ago. When I was fifty, someone said it to me,
and it resonates with me so strongly. Happiness is on
the other side of a difficult conversation, right, And that
could be with yourself, that could be with someone that
you're struggling with, that could be your boss, that could
(08:59):
be your spouse.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
But if you can have that.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Difficult conversation on the other side of it, the lightness
that you feel, the weight that gets lifted off of you.
And it sounds like that's a little bit that of
what went on.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
My daughter came to visit a while back, and even
she said the phone call that we had after she left,
She's like, I can't you're different.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
How has your familial relationships, how have they changed?
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Oh, my daughter, it's getting better. My son, there's still
we're still struggling. He still hasn't, you know, reached out
to call her anything, but you know that's in his court.
I have to take it on their terms now, not online.
You know, my daughter understands she's actually she was. There
was some trepidation there, but when she came to our
(09:45):
campus and actually saw, you know, I'm living in a house,
it's not a campus, it's a home, right, this is
my family, And she realized that she sees that I'm
I'm happy. I'm choosing to stay where I'm at, and
I'm happy. I love what I'm doing. I love the
interactions that I have with the staff, the other students,
you know. And she actually she told me this the
(10:07):
other night. She was, Dad, you're at peace, and she goes,
I'm so happy for you.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Forgiveness may take a while for your son, but the
only thing you can do is keep doing the right thing,
and hopefully your son will be able to find it
in his heart. He may have a little view in
there that says, I don't want to deal with the
hard stuff, but I want to talk to Lola for
a moment because I want people to understand what makes
the other side academy different. I always recommend step Denver,
but they don't accept women, so any woman that has
(10:35):
crossed my path. I'm always recommending you tell people about
the Other Side Academy overall.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Sure, thank you, Mandy. You know, the Other Side Academy
is not a program. I want to start with saying
the Other Side Academy is a home, it's a family,
it's a community. What makes us different than other places
is a couple of things. We're two and a half
year commitment, so it's you commit to two and a
half years, so the length of the program really adds
(11:00):
to the success rate. Number two is there's no doctors
and no therapists. Everybody that works at the Other Side
Academy has lived experience, so when I talked to Bill
on the phone, it took me back.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I remember what it was like.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
We're all able to relate to each other because we
know what it's like to be at rock bottom. And
the third thing is that we don't accept any government funding.
It doesn't cost anything to come to the Other Side Academy.
It is absolutely free. If you don't have any Medicaid,
it doesn't matter. It's a free program. It's available to
men and women that are absolutely ready to do something different.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
What do the and I love the fact you call
them students, not not you know, like not recovery of
patience or anything.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
They're students. What are some of the things.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
That you guys employ over that two and a half
years to help people overcome these addictions?
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So, as Bill was talking about, there were a couple
of things that he needed to really focus on to
get to where he is today, because you're right, it's
not the drugs and it's not the alcohol. It's all
of the stuff that we do that leads us to
seeking relief through that. So we have a really strong
emphasis on the underlying issues and the behaviors, the decision making,
(12:09):
the stories we tell ourselves. And you can't really do
that in the thirty thirty day program. I really need
a good significant amount of time thirty months to really
dig deep and uncover and unpack all of those things.
And you want to be able to build relationships with
people that are going to help you do that. But
in addition to all of that, we also have a
strong emphasis on vocational training. We want to teach our
(12:32):
students how to work, how to develop a work ethic,
to realize that if you don't work, you don't need
not to be reliant on other people, but to be
self reliant, and we do that through our moving company.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
We own and operate a.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Moving company that's five star rated moving company called The
Other Side Movers, and our students will work there. We
also have a furniture boutique.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I love the whole furniture boutique concept because this actually
came about because of the moving company.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
You know, we were moving people like you, Mandy, and
you had a perfectly wonderful table that you didn't want anymore,
and that was beautiful, lightly used, so you would.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Donate it to us.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And we were taking in all these phenomenal donations and
having your sales every few months, and we were making money,
and so we said, this is a no brainer. We
have to open a brick and mortar and we have
to have a furniture boutique so people could come in
and learn about the Other Side Academy, make purchases, and
then that revenue goes back to cover the operational expenses,
(13:29):
so people like Bill could come to the Other Side
Academy free of charge.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Where is the furniture store, Thank you for asking.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
The furniture store is located in the Highlands. It's on
thirty one twenty five Federal Boulevard. Okay, so that's about
Federal and Spear. It ups to be an old dollar tree,
real rundown, kind of like the people that come to
us night and we renovated it and made it this
beautiful store and this experience when you come in you
get to deal with people like Bill and learn about
(13:57):
the Other Side Academy and find some real gem there
that you can take home.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And so let's start before we run out of time,
because we're almost out of time here. Do you want
to talk about the fundraiser that you're having.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I would love to.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
I know that everybody has something that they like to
focus on during the holiday time. And if you have
an organization that you support, by all means support that organization.
But if you don't, the Other Side Academy is doing
a fundraiser called the Angel Tree. The Angel Tree is
designed to raise some money so that we can have
presence under the tree for all of our students that
(14:29):
are working so hard to change their lives. Some of
them have never had any wonderful Christmas memories. So if
you're interested in taking part of the Angel Tree and
helping make this Christmas memorable for all of our students,
please reach out to me. It's Lola La at the
other Side Academy dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I'm gonna put that on my social media and I'm
gonna be getting an angel as well.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I love an angel tree because I love providing fund stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Bill.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I am just, I am overjoyed.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I am I am filled with gratitude that you let
me know, and filled with gratitude that I was able
to make a connection.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I am one of those people.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
I think God works through people all the time, and
in this instance, God worked through me for you. And
I am so happy that you are thriving and doing
so well. And Lola, thank you for doing what you do.
I know that this is such a passion project for
you personally, but without people like the Other Side Academy
and step Denver. I mean, these organizations are so worthy
(15:35):
of your support. So if you can't do anything else,
at least do an angel and Bill, I'm excited when
when you get on the staff. I mean, you know,
you gotta let me know, you gotta let me know
how that works out.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
But I am, I am just. I can't express how
much it means to me.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I just want to tell you personally thank you because
you had you had a large part in this. You
directed me.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I was just working on God's behalf.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
That's all I want to want to also double that,
thank you so much for remembering who we are in
cases like this when somebody says I need help and
having that file somewhere you know within you that you
can say, listen, I get it, please call this place.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Well, I've been very lucky in my life that I
the people that I love who have struggled with addiction,
except one who did not make it, have all been
able to overcome those addictions with programs either like this
or programs that are similar and seeing them on the
other side. Yeah, you want that for everyone, right, want
you want everyone to be able to come out of
(16:33):
the fog.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yeah, and you want everyone. I want everyone to succeed. Yeah,
it's a lot. People are not hopeless.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
If you're listening and you are struggling, please know that
you are not hopeless. There is hope. You just have
to take a step and reach out for help. If
you reach out for help, people are going to embrace
you and they're going to help you get to where
you need to be because there's so much more to
life than just thinking that you're hopeless and you can't
get better, because you can.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Amen to that.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
That is lilas strong and Billburrow's a successful student at
the Other Side Academy and I can't wait to see
you flourish in the rest of your life.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Bill. Thank you.
I want to start my next interview by reading an email,
because I got this email last week and I just
want to.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Share it with you.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The subject line you helped save my life. My name
is William Farrow Bill. I called you on March twenty third,
twenty twenty two, live on the air. I was an
alcoholic and homeless, living in my truck, and I had
no hope for a future as far as I could see.
The discussion you were having was about addiction and homelessness
and what the answer to the problem was. I briefly
(00:29):
explained how I was homeless, struggling with my own addiction
was living in my truck. You told me about a
woman you had interviewed the previous year in the organization
she was in charge of, called The Other Side Academy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Her name is Lolas Strong.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I went to that program and you did an interview
with me on the air while I was waiting to
be accepted. You said you'd like to do an interview
when I completed the program. I'm currently still here and
I'm thriving. My graduation date is fast approaching, and I
was reaching out to you in the hopes that you
still wanted to do an interview with myself and the
Man director Lola. I would like to share my struggles
with addiction and homelessness, but more importantly, how the Other
(01:05):
Side Academy has saved my life and people just like me.
This program is one of the hardest things that I've
ever done in my life. It's like nothing else in
this world. Lola Strong is an amazing woman. She saw
hope and potential in a fifty three year old man
when I thought there was no hope for.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Me, only suicide.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
My plans are to stay here and become a staff
member once I graduate, which means I am choosing to
stay longer to achieve that goal. I'm giving you her number.
I'm not able to have a cell phone yet, but
this is my email account and I just want to
thank you because I would not be here, breathing and
thriving with a positive future ahead of me if it
weren't for that fateful phone call and your suggestion of
(01:46):
the Other Side Academy and joining me now in the studio,
Bill and Lola Strong from the Other Side Academy.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Bill, Dude, you got me. I cried when I read
this email.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm going to cry now because so often I sit
here and I do the show, and every once in
a while, I get a call from someone who's just
in a bad way. It could be a situation where
their life is just not doing well, and I always
try to give them a way to move forward. And
then they go away, and I don't know what happened,
(02:18):
and I don't know if they move forward, and I
don't know if.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
They got their life together. I don't know if they're dead.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
To be perfectly honest, and I told you and Lula outside,
I was talking about step Denver and the Other Side
Academy because I think both programs are just doing God's
work and deserve our support and our appreciation.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And I thought about you. I thought about the guy
that called me.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I couldn't remember your name, And I said, that guy
that called me, I wonder if everything is okay. And
then I was going to call the Other Side Academy,
but I'm like, they can't tell me anything. That's like
a hip of thing. So I was just kind of wondering.
So when I got this email, it made me so happy.
First of all that I was able to push you
in a direction, but second of all.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You took it. Tell me about that day and what
made you call this show?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Oh god, it was cold. I remember the day it was.
It was cold, it was snowing, and I had just
gotten to a point where I I didn't see anything.
I didn't see any future. I was you know, we
always hear rock bottom, but I was at rock bottom.
I mean, it was the same routine for me every day.
(03:25):
I was slowly I came to realize that I was
slowly killing myself. I'd get up, I'd go to work,
and I drink. You know, I was living in my truck.
There would be days where I didn't have money to
put gas in it, and it was cold, so I
would drink myself to sleep. Sometimes wision I would just
not wake up, just freeze to death, you know, dreading
waking up the next morning and starting all over again,
(03:45):
you know. And I just it got to the points
where I knew I needed help. And I did listen
to your show, and I would remember you interviewing Lola.
I couldn't remember that. I think I was calling the
Dark Side Academy something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I did be called the Light Slide Academy, but.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, you know, and I remembered, and I remember you
telling me. You gave me the number and you told
me you better call, and I called Lola that night.
I was actually pretty intoxicated the day that I called.
And I called Lola that night, actually right when I
got off the air with you, and she gave me
a brief interview, basically told me to sober up coming
(04:23):
the next day. And I don't know, I think I
called her a dozen times that night. She finally, you know,
let me know, just go to sleep, keep it off.
And that's what I did, you know. And the next
morning I got up because I had told my daughter
what I was going to do, and she actually called
me and woke me up and I said, God, Dad,
are you still going to that place? And I said,
(04:43):
I started. She's like, no, You're going to do it, Dad.
You promised me, so one of the few promises I
ever kept.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So tell me about the program and how I mean,
kind of walk me through your own experience. You check
in I'm imagining that you were detoxing.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, I mean for me, I stayed there eight months
and left and had to restart all over again. So
I've been there.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Let me ask Lola question that's not super uncommon. No,
it's not that there are bumps in the road to recovery.
So I want to be clear that that's not a
crazy thing to have happen.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, but for somebody to stay that long and leave
most of the time, it's earlier. And I just I
couldn't get up my own way. It was my ego.
I thought I had everything figured out, and I didn't,
you know. And she kept telling me. She told me
that morning. When I decided, I told her I'm done,
I'm leaving. She told me exactly what was going to happen.
And I didn't listen. And as soon as I left,
(05:42):
everything that she started telling me was going to happen happen.
And I remember I called her at four or five
o'clock in the morning. I was getting ready to make
a very very bad decision, potentially want to put me
in prison for the rest of my life. And I
told her, Lola, I need to come home, you know,
And she said, come home.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So what are the what are the sort of things
that you've sorted out or you've worked through as a
part of this program. Because your alcoholism did not start
because you picked up a beer. There's all kinds of
other stuff going on and that led you down that path.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I would say for me, it was probably owning some
of the stuff that I had done throughout my life.
You know, there's very violent pass with me walking out
of two marriages, you know, with kids, because I wanted
what I wanted, not man enough to face that kind
of stuff and being at the other side of cat
(06:36):
and not only that, but letting go ass some stuff
that wasn't mine to carry, right you know in my
past that I've carried that's really not mine, you know,
that belongs to other people. And in doing that, it's
you know, it's I'm I'm held accountable for the things
that I've done, you know, and other people in my
life are held accountable for the things that they've done.
(06:57):
And for me, it's it's finding some peace.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It's going to be a little I mean, you have
to feel a little lighter, especially when you offload the
things that are not your responsibility, and that allows you
to really take accountability for the stuff that you do.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Own, right, absolutely absolutely, And Lola was there. I Mean
sometimes some of the stuff that I needed to be
held accountable for I didn't want and I think that
was part of the reason why I left, because I
knew it was coming, you know, and I didn't I
didn't want to face it, you know. And being out
there and realizing that what she told me was correct,
(07:30):
you know, and not being gone even ten hours the
decision that I was confronted with to make, and I'm
just like, I can't do this. I'm not going to
throw my life away. They were right everything that I'd
been taught and told, because sometimes you're told some stuff
that you really don't want to hear in a way
that you don't want to hear it, but you need
to hear it right, you know. And I know that.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
And I've always thought this, and I've been really lucky
in my life that I've never struggled with addiction myself personally.
It's not that I was not, you know, drinking too
much at certain times in my life or something like that,
but I've never had to deal with that addiction component.
But it seems to me that the people that I
have known and loved who have been addicts of various sorts,
(08:15):
they were all on the run mentally from something, and
so they used drugs or alcohol to tamp down the
kind of things that you're talking about now that were
so they felt so overwhelming to even even just manage it,
to even just deal with it on any level, that
they used drugs or alcohol to escape, right. And so
(08:37):
to hear you say this and admit that you know,
I tell my daughter all the time. My daughter's fifteen,
and I didn't learn this until I was like five
years ago. When I was fifty, someone said it to me,
and it resonates with me so strongly. Happiness is on
the other side of a difficult conversation, right, And that
could be with yourself, that could be with someone that
you're struggling with, that could be your boss, that could
(08:59):
be your spouse.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
But if you can have that.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Difficult conversation on the other side of it, the lightness
that you feel, the weight that gets lifted off of you.
And it sounds like that's a little bit that of
what went on.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
My daughter came to visit a while back, and even
she said the phone call that we had after she left,
She's like, I can't you're different.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
How has your familial relationships, how have they changed?
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Oh, my daughter, it's getting better. My son, there's still
we're still struggling. He still hasn't, you know, reached out
to call her anything, but you know that's in his court.
I have to take it on their terms now, not online.
You know, my daughter understands she's actually she was. There
was some trepidation there, but when she came to our
(09:45):
campus and actually saw, you know, I'm living in a house,
it's not a campus, it's a home, right, this is
my family, And she realized that she sees that I'm
I'm happy. I'm choosing to stay where I'm at, and
I'm happy. I love what I'm doing. I love the
interactions that I have with the staff, the other students,
you know. And she actually she told me this the
(10:07):
other night. She was, Dad, you're at peace, and she goes,
I'm so happy for you.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Forgiveness may take a while for your son, but the
only thing you can do is keep doing the right thing,
and hopefully your son will be able to find it
in his heart. He may have a little view in
there that says, I don't want to deal with the
hard stuff, but I want to talk to Lola for
a moment because I want people to understand what makes
the other side academy different. I always recommend step Denver,
but they don't accept women, so any woman that has
(10:35):
crossed my path. I'm always recommending you tell people about
the Other Side Academy overall.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Sure, thank you, Mandy. You know, the Other Side Academy
is not a program. I want to start with saying
the Other Side Academy is a home, it's a family,
it's a community. What makes us different than other places
is a couple of things. We're two and a half
year commitment, so it's you commit to two and a
half years, so the length of the program really adds
(11:00):
to the success rate. Number two is there's no doctors
and no therapists. Everybody that works at the Other Side
Academy has lived experience, so when I talked to Bill
on the phone, it took me back.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I remember what it was like.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
We're all able to relate to each other because we
know what it's like to be at rock bottom. And
the third thing is that we don't accept any government funding.
It doesn't cost anything to come to the Other Side Academy.
It is absolutely free. If you don't have any Medicaid,
it doesn't matter. It's a free program. It's available to
men and women that are absolutely ready to do something different.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
What do the and I love the fact you call
them students, not not you know, like not recovery of
patience or anything.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
They're students. What are some of the things.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
That you guys employ over that two and a half
years to help people overcome these addictions?
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So, as Bill was talking about, there were a couple
of things that he needed to really focus on to
get to where he is today, because you're right, it's
not the drugs and it's not the alcohol. It's all
of the stuff that we do that leads us to
seeking relief through that. So we have a really strong
emphasis on the underlying issues and the behaviors, the decision making,
(12:09):
the stories we tell ourselves. And you can't really do
that in the thirty thirty day program. I really need
a good significant amount of time thirty months to really
dig deep and uncover and unpack all of those things.
And you want to be able to build relationships with
people that are going to help you do that. But
in addition to all of that, we also have a
strong emphasis on vocational training. We want to teach our
(12:32):
students how to work, how to develop a work ethic,
to realize that if you don't work, you don't need
not to be reliant on other people, but to be
self reliant, and we do that through our moving company.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
We own and operate a.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Moving company that's five star rated moving company called The
Other Side Movers, and our students will work there. We
also have a furniture boutique.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I love the whole furniture boutique concept because this actually
came about because of the moving company.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
You know, we were moving people like you, Mandy, and
you had a perfectly wonderful table that you didn't want anymore,
and that was beautiful, lightly used, so you would.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Donate it to us.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And we were taking in all these phenomenal donations and
having your sales every few months, and we were making money,
and so we said, this is a no brainer. We
have to open a brick and mortar and we have
to have a furniture boutique so people could come in
and learn about the Other Side Academy, make purchases, and
then that revenue goes back to cover the operational expenses,
(13:29):
so people like Bill could come to the Other Side
Academy free of charge.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Where is the furniture store, Thank you for asking.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
The furniture store is located in the Highlands. It's on
thirty one twenty five Federal Boulevard. Okay, so that's about
Federal and Spear. It ups to be an old dollar tree,
real rundown, kind of like the people that come to
us night and we renovated it and made it this
beautiful store and this experience when you come in you
get to deal with people like Bill and learn about
(13:57):
the Other Side Academy and find some real gem there
that you can take home.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And so let's start before we run out of time,
because we're almost out of time here. Do you want
to talk about the fundraiser that you're having.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I would love to.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
I know that everybody has something that they like to
focus on during the holiday time. And if you have
an organization that you support, by all means support that organization.
But if you don't, the Other Side Academy is doing
a fundraiser called the Angel Tree. The Angel Tree is
designed to raise some money so that we can have
presence under the tree for all of our students that
(14:29):
are working so hard to change their lives. Some of
them have never had any wonderful Christmas memories. So if
you're interested in taking part of the Angel Tree and
helping make this Christmas memorable for all of our students,
please reach out to me. It's Lola La at the
other Side Academy dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I'm gonna put that on my social media and I'm
gonna be getting an angel as well.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I love an angel tree because I love providing fund stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Bill.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I am just, I am overjoyed.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I am I am filled with gratitude that you let
me know, and filled with gratitude that I was able
to make a connection.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I am one of those people.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
I think God works through people all the time, and
in this instance, God worked through me for you. And
I am so happy that you are thriving and doing
so well. And Lola, thank you for doing what you do.
I know that this is such a passion project for
you personally, but without people like the Other Side Academy
and step Denver. I mean, these organizations are so worthy
(15:35):
of your support. So if you can't do anything else,
at least do an angel and Bill, I'm excited when
when you get on the staff. I mean, you know,
you gotta let me know, you gotta let me know
how that works out.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
But I am, I am just. I can't express how
much it means to me.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I just want to tell you personally thank you because
you had you had a large part in this. You
directed me.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I was just working on God's behalf.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
That's all I want to want to also double that,
thank you so much for remembering who we are in
cases like this when somebody says I need help and
having that file somewhere you know within you that you
can say, listen, I get it, please call this place.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Well, I've been very lucky in my life that I
the people that I love who have struggled with addiction,
except one who did not make it, have all been
able to overcome those addictions with programs either like this
or programs that are similar and seeing them on the
other side. Yeah, you want that for everyone, right, want
you want everyone to be able to come out of
(16:33):
the fog.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yeah, and you want everyone. I want everyone to succeed. Yeah,
it's a lot. People are not hopeless.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
If you're listening and you are struggling, please know that
you are not hopeless. There is hope. You just have
to take a step and reach out for help. If
you reach out for help, people are going to embrace
you and they're going to help you get to where
you need to be because there's so much more to
life than just thinking that you're hopeless and you can't
get better, because you can.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Amen to that.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
That is lilas strong and Billburrow's a successful student at
the Other Side Academy and I can't wait to see
you flourish in the rest of your life.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Bill. Thank you.
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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