Director of Behavioral Health Denise Botcheos wrote the piece below for PPP's third annual Recover & Thrive event in honor of National Recovery Month, held on Thursday, September 17. STEP stands for Stabilization, Treatment, and Engagement Program -- our case management program designed to support participants through a holistic and low-barrier approach to recovery.
STEP is special because we meet people where they are — often at a very vulnerable point in their lives — and we don't give up on them.
One of the things that makes our team so unique is that most of our staff have lived experience. They know what it feels like to struggle with substance use, trauma, incarceration, stigma, and the uncertainty that comes with trying to begin a different chapter in your life.
That lived experience is something you can't teach in a classroom. It allows the team to connect with participants in a way that is genuine. We don't see the people we serve as labels, diagnoses, or problems to be solved. We see them as peers. We see ourselves in them, and we understand that any one of us could need someone to believe in us during a difficult chapter of our lives.
And that's why we believe everyone deserves extraordinary care.
At STEP, people are allowed to come as they are. In many traditional clinical settings, someone who appears intoxicated or sedated is often turned away. We understand that sometimes that person needs us the most at that very moment.
We don't expect someone to have everything figured out before we will help them.
Instead, we meet them where they're at and begin there.
And our support doesn't stop with a referral or a warm handoff. We provide case management and walk alongside our participants. We help them navigate systems, appointments, providers, resources, and all of the barriers that can make recovery and stability feel overwhelming.
We support people from the moment they walk through our doors to the moment they leave — and sometimes long after that.
One of the things I am particularly proud of is the team’s ability to collaborate. STEP is truly person-centered. We recognize that everyone's needs are different, and support doesn't come in just one form.
Sometimes our role is supporting the participant. Sometimes it's supporting a provider. Sometimes it's helping both sides understand one another. And sometimes it's simply being the person in the room who can say, "I've been there. I understand."
That presence can make an enormous difference.
What also makes this team extraordinary is our passion for the work. We are constantly learning — from one another, from our providers, and most importantly, from the people we serve.
We know that recovery isn't a straight line. We know that trauma doesn't disappear overnight. We know that changing your life can be frightening, exhausting, and overwhelming.
But we also know something else.
Change is possible.
Many of our participants see the team — people who have faced some of the same struggles they are facing — and they see that they are thriving. They see that there can be something beyond the pain, beyond the substance use, beyond the chaos, beyond the trauma.
They see hope.
And sometimes hope is the first thing a person needs before they can believe that recovery is possible for them.
The STEP case managers understand that relapse or drug reoccurrence is not a failure; it is often part of a person’s recovery that supports their growth and maturity. Working with the participants in STEP also reminds the team what they have overcome in their own addiction and recovery path. Watching people navigate through their journey makes us appreciate being where we are today in life.
Our team goes above and beyond for the people we serve because this work is personal. They care for our participants the way we would want someone to care for us, our friends, our loved ones.
We know that we are all in this together. And perhaps that is the greatest strength of STEP.
We don't stand above the people we serve. We stand beside them.
We walk with them through the difficult moments, celebrate their victories, learn from their setbacks, and remind them that their story isn't over.
Their circumstances may be difficult. Their past may be painful. But none of that determines what their future can be.
That is what STEP represents to us.
Support.
Connection.
Compassion.
Lived experience.
And, most importantly, hope.
We meet people where they are, and we walk with them toward where they want to go.
And that is what makes STEP special.
Top photo: The STEP team, from top left to top right: Sonika Aggarwal, Dee-Dee Pope, Terri Wagner, Nancy Hess, Denise Botcheos, Jonathan Balthazar, Michael Shales, and Stacey Brown.