Recovery coaches use lived experience to help students at Denver recovery high school
DENVER — High school can be challenging, but for students at 5280 High School in Denver, there's an additional set of challenges to overcome.
"We are a school because of the disease of addiction, so the first thing we want to do is get a young person stabilized in their recovery," said Keith Hayes, the school's director of recovery. "Once you get the young person stabilized in their recovery, that's how to care about life again."
Hayes's goal is to help these teenagers find purpose and passion in their lives.
"A lot of our kids have been to multiple treatment facilities. They missed a lot of school, right? They lack confidence in the classroom. And they can come here and immediately feel comfortable," said Hayes.
Teachers engage with students through project-based learning, which is meant to help students who struggled in traditional classroom settings get back on track. Students are also supported by a recovery coach, who checks in with them and provides recovery advice.
"Our recovery coaches have lived experience, right," Hayes explained. "A lot of them started using drugs and alcohol when they were in high school, and now they get to come back to high school and help our young people not make some of the same choices that they made."
Darryl Brown started at 5280 HS as a humanities teacher and is now one of five recovery coaches.
"I begin to help them with their coping skills so that they can have more availability of like how to navigate these challenges that are coming in recovery," said Brown.
Beyond the classroom, students have opportunities to gather as a student body and share their lived experiences. At the beginning of the school year, Brown opened up about his own recovery journey. He hoped to not only inspire students but show how recovery can lead to a better life.
"The opposite of addiction, it's not recovery, it's connection," Brown said. "It's having the ability to connect with someone else and to grow with that connection. And so that's what I really want to do. I want to share with them how I went around this circle to come back and connect."
As he reflected on his journey, students like Kyara Molina Suarez were able to gain a better understanding of the years of work Brown has put in to better himself.
"I've heard a lot of recovery stories from most of the people here, and as well as from my peers, and I think Darryl's was the one that really connected with me because, I mean, he has gone through a lot," explained Suarez. "Of course, 35 years of addiction is a lot compared to, I think, maybe the seven or eight years that he has sober, but he's doing really amazing at it."
Suarez is a senior this year and is getting ready to graduate. She said she never imagined getting to this point in her life.
"At the time, I was extremely depressed, extremely suicidal at the time. I was still struggling with self-harm a lot, and I genuinely didn't think I would live past 16," said Suarez.
One challenge families do not have to face is the financial burden of attending 5280 High School, as it is tuition-free.
"Any kid who wants a life of sobriety and recovery can attend our school," Hayes said. "You don't have to live in Denver to attend our school, and it's important that every young person that wants access to our school has access to our school, and families don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to see their young person recover."
As he looks toward the future, Hayes stressed the need for more recovery coaches like Brown, along with more therapists.
"We want to be able to give our kids the red carpet treatment at 5280 High School, and we're only able to fund 50% of our budget through the per pupil dollars that we get from the state," Hayes said. "We have to fundraise $1.5 to $2 million a year just to keep our doors open and to be able to give our kids the services that they need."
Hayes said his colleagues at 5280 High School are dedicated to ensuring that the next chapters of their students' lives are filled with strength, hope, and perseverance.
"I want them to have a life they never thought was possible. And if we can put the disease of addiction in remission now, they have the whole rest of their lives to be the best version of themselves for the rest of their lives," he said.
