I’m pleased today to be joined with Terin DeVoto Noonan who is the owner and founder of Purpose House Sober Living in Fort Collins, Colorado. Thanks for taking the time to come up to Harmony and to share your new program with us. We’re excited about talking about it to others so that folks can learn about you. You’ve got quite a story about your recovery journey, you’re a person in long-term recovery. I’m just kind of curious, what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?
Right now, a whole lot actually. This sober house has been a dream of mine for a really long time, so that’s a huge motivator. Like I was talking with you earlier about, I mean I’m a dad, so being a father is the coolest and most rewarding thing I’ve probably ever done, probably the biggest miracle of my recovery. Really, just the fact of, I don’t know, the ability in recovery to grow on a daily basis is really cool to me, that just getting out of bed and just giving every day everything I’ve got and being able to grow mentally, physically, spiritually on a daily basis is just, it’s a miracle to me honestly. Yes, 100%.
Just giving back, and creating a legacy for your daughter.
Totally. Exactly. Making her proud, making her proud is just huge.
That’s fantastic. You launched Purpose House, why is that important to you?
Giving back is a huge one. Giving back is probably number one really.
Did you have an experience in sober living that made you feel like it was something that you could give to others? Did you have a really good sober living experience? Most times people say that they’ve had a subpar sober living experience and they think they can do better, and they have these ideas of what they want to look like. What was your experience like?
I’ve had both. I went to a terrible sober living home, and then I went to St. Paul Sober Living which is a phenomenal sober living home. I think that played a huge part, was St. Paul Sober Living, and all the guys that I met in St. Paul Sober Living. Eventually after a relapse, I came back and essentially saved my life. That experience played a big role in it.
What was it that made you decide Fort Collins was the place to put it?
I dreamed of opening up a sober living house came way before I even thought about where, when. First, there was the dream, and then I met with Brice, kind of get his background on how he made it happen, and then realize that… he made me realize that I didn’t have to have it as like a five-year goal, that I could make it happen now. Then I just started doing some digging and seeing what was available in Fort Collins, and just realize that there was just a huge gap in sober living resources. There’s really not. So that was just like the dream, and then meeting with him, and him telling me how he did it, and the fact that there was such a gap was just like, it was just kind of a higher power moment, just like the stars just aligned. It was like, “Yeah, it’s like this is what I need to do.”
That’s great. Brice Hancock who’s with Mile High Sober Living for those that are listening is… Actually, Mile High Continuing Care is what they’ve kind of repurposed themselves to be, is really forging the way down in the Denver area around what they’re doing. He’s a great mentor. We have a great deal of respect for their program and refer to them as well which is really nice. Where did the name come from? Why purpose house?
Really, the word purpose was really big for me. I mean coming from a life in addiction where we’re really just like merely surviving, like it’s a day-to-day, drink to drink, high to high, to then be in recovery and really be able to find your own purpose and live a life of purpose was the big motivator for the name. Because we all have a purpose here, we all have it no matter what it is, no matter how big or small, we all have one. When you’re in early recovery especially, understanding what that purpose looks like can be confusing. I think it’s a really great name and really relevant. I wonder what somebody would expect if they come to your sober living, what would their day-to-day look like for them?
We offer a lot of freedom. Our curfews are later, it’s a fun town to be in and live in in recovery. We do have a lot of freedom, but we also do expect a pretty good amount of accountability from our residents really for their benefit more than anything. We do expect them to get a job, work 25 hours a week, or community service, or school, whatever they prefer. We are [inaudible 00:05:13] so we have our meeting requirements and sponsorship requirements, and just building that foundation of recovery through the 12 steps. I really want to build just a community-based home where it’s home for them, and they’re really able to build on a foundation and explore their own purpose and whatever that may be for them. I forgot to mention that this is a men-specific sober living.
This one is men-specific and 18 and over.
We always like to get to know the person behind the program, so I’m going to ask you a couple of personal questions. If you had a giant billboard and you could put any phrase or saying on it that you wanted to advertise to the world, what would it be?
Be yourself, I think would probably be the one which I think is always an ongoing thing for a lot of us because we’re all continuously growing and learning who our true, authentic selves are. I think just always being that true authentic self is so big, the best way to connect with others and love with all your heart.
I like that, I don’t think we do that enough. If I were to offer up the word harmony, what do you think it means to live a life in harmony?
Harmony, such a deep rooted word. I would say to live life in harmony is getting to a place of self-love and acceptance. I think we live life of harmony within ourselves, we live life in harmony with the world around us, by being selfless and just trying to be the best person we can be. Living life in harmony with our closest circle, with like the people we love most, just offering our unconditional love and support to them. I think just self-love and acceptance.
If someone wanted to access your services at Purpose House, how could they get in touch with you?
They can go to our website if they just want to find out more information, it’s www.purposehousesoberliving.com. If they have more detailed questions or want to chat about the program and getting in, my cell is (970)-274-2329, or if they prefer email they can send an email contact@purposehousesoberliving.com.
That’s great, perfect. We’re really happy to have you in the community, and harmonies already referred you one client, and so we expect that will probably continue to grow. For those of you that are listening, I certainly encourage you to check out Terin’s new place, Purpose House Sober Living. Thanks Terin.