Meet Cody Cochran

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cody Cochran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cody, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was born and raised in Adams County, Colorado by a good family that had a secret, my father was an addict and alcoholic. Though a hard working man and good parent, I was introduced to the lack of resources in my community by watching my father repeatedly try and fail to find sobriety. It also introduced me to drugs and alcohol at a young age, teaching me that the solution to pain and discomfort could come from these substances. As my own disease progressed throughout my twenties, I was diagnosed with End Stage Liver Disease from alcoholism at 31 years of age, and decided that if my time was limited, I wanted to find my path in recovery and figure out how I could make a difference. I continued to struggle for the next three years and the idea for our Peer-Focused Sober Living program came to me after being kicked out of my tenth recovery home for relapsing and had decided to take up residence in a homeless encampment in Aurora. I had a number of realizations about my life in that moment, but I knew that if I could turn this around, I could take my experience and develop something that truly gives individuals a helping hand early in sobriety that I had never received. My mother and spouse dragged me out of that situation and that was 1140 days ago as of the day this is being written. Eighteen months into the process I found a business partner that had the same desire to help people and we opened our first property at Threshold To Recovery. To date we have helped 110 men from our community find safe housing and a path way forward in the lives they are trying to change, and have no plans in stopping our fight to bring recovery to Adams County.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Threshold To Recovery, is a Peer-Focused Sober Living in Adams County Colorado that provides a safe and supportive community to not only find recovery, but also find a path for life that will take our clients far from the traumas of their past. There are many businesses in our community that are doing incredible things, but the feedback we get that makes us different are as follows.

1. We’ve been there. The individuals that work for our company are people that have had similar histories and backgrounds to the men that enter the program. They are not receiving addiction advice from someone that has never had to fight to find sobriety themselves.
2. Encourage All Pathways. Though I personally found sobriety in the 12-Step rooms, we have learned that millions of individuals have found freedom in a number of different activities. We hold Active Recovery groups where individuals workout together, Creative Recovery which allows clients to access self through art, Peer Groups that allow men to find vulnerability with others, Breathworks & Meditation to ease anxiety and stress, Family Programming to encourage re-integration and Life Skills groups to help individuals learn everything from accessing services to employment preparedness. Our goal is to make sure that if a man hasn’t been taught to do something that could foster growth in his life, we are here to help.
3. Community over everything. We realized that the community that can be found in these sober living homes is vital to making individuals know they are not alone and have support. We hold a number of regular group activities where individuals can spend time with one another doing normal things like having a BBQ, going fishing or camping, watching sports and fight nights, all without substances. Our men lean heavily on each other, and when one is calling out for help, we all respond.
4. Eliminate financial barriers. Most sober livings require that someone show up with a voucher or funds to pay for their first months fees and deposits. We have implemented a sliding scale model that allows individuals to move into sober living with no money up front, giving them time to secure employment and all the help along the way. We also provide internal scholarships for individuals so that getting back on their feet is possible.
5. We actually care. When a man walks through our doors, he is generally beaten, broken, and feeling like life will never change no matter what he does. As men that have experienced those exact same feelings, we work hard to make sure they know that they are our family now, and anything they need can be figured out with a little love, patience, and action. Our goal is to show up for these men in these moment when they don’t feel capable, until they can stand on their own two feet.

Our path to the place where we are today was an extremely difficult one. We experienced all of the pitfalls a new business can. Financial difficulties, issues with properties, clients not paying program fees, medical billing companies not performing, you name it, it hit us. While eating ramen for every meal, Danny and I doubled down and decided that the values we had established when we started this business were the ones we would hold fast to, and hope for the best. After securing a few solid partnerships, and developing a more robust program that actually spoke to the needs of our community, we began to find success. Many individuals in the recovery space become wealthy from the businesses they start; however if client-first is truly how you’ll operate daily, then allowing profit to cloud the equation makes being a good person impossible. We have stayed the course, through good times and bad, and have begun to succeed in our lifelong mission of helping our community find recovery.

The thing I am most proud of is simply the progress that is made by each man in our program every day. Every time a father gets to re-enter his child’s life, a son gets to speak to his parent, a man realizes that drawing one more sober breath is possible, and makes way for the next one. The men that realize that they have an entire life ahead of them, as long as they push through the now. That is what I’m most proud of, these men getting up, showing up, for themselves and others every, single, day.

I want the world to know that we are here. Here to help you, your son, your husband, your father, any man that we can get our hands on that thinks that bottle, the pill, the powder, or the needle has won. It hasn’t, and while in life sometimes your calls for help go unanswered, we are here to pull you out of that hole and help you to see that your path to glorious destiny is in front of you, and we’re ready to walk arm in arm towards it with you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I wouldn’t be taking them out for cocktails unless there was an awesome mocktails, but as a fifth generation Coloradan, I think we could figure out some fun things.

I’m a huge fan of the Southern Mountain towns of Colorado including Telluride, Salida and Ouray, but my favorite is Pagosa Springs for some great hot springs and great people.

Local restaurants that I would absolutely hit are the Water Grill, ChoLon, La Diabla Pozole, TK’s Surf and Turf or Tacos Los Viejones. For the most delicious drinks on the planet I would track down Tha MooVment.

For a day trip I would take them up to Manitou Springs for some fun shopping, beautiful views of Garden of the Gods and great food.

Then a long drive over to the Glenwood Hot Springs for a soak before wrapping the week up.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As a man in long term recovery from drugs and alcohol, I have a number of people to thank, as the journey that I have been on doesn’t happen in isolation, but rather in a community that loves you until you can love yourself. So much credit is due to the 12-Step fellowships, Sponsors, and family members that I have met in those rooms. Your guidance was invaluable, and knowing that I wasn’t alone was the solution to my belief that I was terminally unique.

My business partner, Danny. The most loyal friend I’ve ever had, a man that was cut from a similar cloth and had an internal need to do right by people after a lifetime of doing wrong. I’ve watched him take the literal shirt off of his back to keep another addict warm, and his dedication to the work we do is unmatched. His support and ability to put his head down and make it through the hard is what makes him special, and I’m grateful to call him my brother.

My mother, a woman that went through her own husbands addiction, immediately followed by her sons, was someone that stood by me throughout the whole process. When nobody would answer their phone, for good reason, my mom would answer as long as I was willing to go to treatment. When the liver disease took over, I lost over a hundred pounds in a short period of time and couldn’t walk. She pushed me to get up, forcing me to swim and take those steps, even when I felt like I couldn’t. She loved me through all of it and I am so thankful that she is present in my life and gets to be around the son she always knew was in there. The smile on her face and tears in her eyes when she tells people my story speaks volumes. A woman that has been through it all and continues to love so deeply is a rare find, and I just so happened to be lucky enough to get her as a mother.

My significant other, my partner in life, the woman that makes me better and loved me when I was far from deserving. A success in every right, with the only bad decision she has ever made being loving me. The sleepless nights, attempting to track me down when I was on another run, dealing with broken promises and I love you’s that were sincere but rarely followed up on. Thank you for teaching me what having a family is, what loving people without motive looks like, and for being the the only star in my life on the nights that were darkest. I surely wouldn’t be alive without you, and wouldn’t have ever understood how someone could be loved even in their ugliest moments just as much as they are during times of true beauty. Our family is my reason, and you gave me that and I will spend the remainder of my days proving to you both how important you are. Thanks for showing me what life can be.

There are so many people that have played a pivotal role in my sobriety, and success in the recovery industry. But the final one I’d like to thank is the addict and alcoholic that still struggles, the man that knows he has a future ahead of him, but can’t quite see the proper path to get there. I thank you now, because when you come through the doors of my house, both of our lives are going to change, and I appreciate you for letting me be present on the journey.

Website: www.thresholdtorecovery.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thresholdtorecovery