Salt Lake City— Since The Other Side Academy’s opening in 2015 they have made a monumental impact in the community and breakthroughs in the way we treat addiction. The Other Side Academy’s (TOSA) two and a half year residential program offers vocational training, peer mentoring, education, leadership training and transitional services.
According to the World Population Review, Utah’s recidivism rate is about 50 percent. The Academy’s recidivism rate of graduates: a remarkable 15 percent. This is the percentage of people who have completed the program and have been rearrested after graduation.
Our graduate success is due to the accountability embedded in the culture. “I had to stop calculating the next “right move” and simply do the next right thing. I cannot express the deep intrinsic change that TOSA has enabled me to to perform, but I know I was a drug addict and career criminal for 20 years, and today I am a contributing citizen that cares for and about the world around me," said Jordon Holdaway, a TOSA graduate/employee.
The Other Side Academy is free of charge to the participant and takes no government funding. How is this possible? It’s pretty simple; if we don’t work, we don’t eat. Revenue is generated through social enterprises that cover most of the program’s expenses. As students work in our various social enterprises, they receive on the job training and eventually become hard-working, honest individuals. Upon graduating each one leaves with a tool belt full of vocational skills. This model allowed The Other Side Academy to become operationally self-sufficient within the first two years free from government funding.
It costs approximately $50,000 per year to keep men and women in prison. This October, The Other Side Academy celebrates 131,084 days of drug and crime free living for their students since opening five years ago. As a result, The Other Side Academy has saved Utah taxpayers nearly $18,000,000. `
Sure, it’s easy to stay sober and out of trouble while in “rehab” but what happens when you reintegrate into society? Acceptance at The Other Side Academy doesn’t end at 30, 60 or 90 days or when their insurance runs out. Students can opt in to stay longer, whether it’s because they are not quite ready to leave the therapeutic community The Other Side provides, or they simply want to continue to mentor and guide newer students.
The organization’s Drug Free, Crime Free, and Employed (DCE) rate of graduates is a noteworthy 70 percent! The DCE rate of graduates who elected to stay 3+ years is 89 percent. Without a doubt, The Other Side Academy is doing something right, scalable, and reproducible. It’s saving lives! “One of the most exciting things we have learned over our five years of existence is that this model really works in changing lives. We are seeing the majority of our graduates living successful and productive lives, reuniting with their families, and staying out of the destructive and toxic behaviors of their past. We have learned that this model works, that it pays for itself, and that it is scalable. That is pretty exciting," said Tim Stay, CEO of The Other Side Academy.