Summit Healing

Background Statement

Summit Healing was established in 2019 with two sober living facilities. At the time, the organization housed 20 individuals, with an additional ten on the waitlist. Without the support provided by Summit Healing, many of these individuals would likely have been homeless, unable to comply with community supervision, and left without access to essential behavioral health services, including medication management. Early participants at Summit Healing often faced significant challenges due to their involvement in the justice system and co-occurring mental health conditions. These challenges included barriers to employment, such as limited education, vocational skills, and job training opportunities.

To address these issues, Summit Healing sought to offer access to GED preparation and testing services, aiming to enhance participants' self-efficacy and remove obstacles to vocational training, college enrollment, and future employment. Additionally, providing recovery coach training and certification enabled participants to advance their own recovery while creating viable employment opportunities and supporting their educational progression.

In its early years, Summit Healing formed strong partnerships to enhance the care provided to its residents. Collaborations with local crisis stabilization units ensured that those in need of immediate intervention had access to urgent care. Summit Healing also partnered with All Health Behavioral Networks, which offered telehealth services and assertive community treatment to its residents. To ensure that resident needs were continuously met, ongoing program evaluations were conducted by Clarity Research Group.

In 2019, Summit Healing was awarded a contract by the State Court Administrators Office, allowing the organization to accept sober living vouchers for clients on probation within the 1st, 2nd, 17th, and 18th Judicial Districts. Most participants came with a treatment referral from local community providers, enabling a streamlined integration into the program.

Summit Healing also collaborated with two key organizations: Addiction Research and Treatment Services (ARTS) and Mile High Behavioral Healthcare (MHBHC). Both organizations were members of the Signal Behavioral Health Quality Monitoring Committee and fully complied with state licensing requirements. Summit also established several other key partnerships that continue on to this day including: AllHealth Network (AHN), Gracefull Foundation, and the Problem-Solving Courts and Probation Departments of the Counties which Summit Healing serves.

Founded in 1960, MHBHC had served more than 250,000 individuals by this time, providing comprehensive behavioral healthcare to underserved populations and empowering clients to achieve strength, health, and self-sufficiency. ARTS, a clinical program under the Division of Substance Dependence at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, had been offering outpatient, empirically supported substance abuse treatment for over 40 years, specializing in services for justice-involved individuals.

Since 1955, AllHealth Network, formerly Arapahoe Douglas Mental Health Network, has been a private, non-profit provider of professional, confidential, quality mental health and substance abuse treatment services for children, adolescents, adults, and families in Arapahoe and Douglas counties whose comprehensive network of services allows them to effectively treat a broad spectrum of mental illnesses including: A crisis stabilization unit, substance use disorder intensive outpatient program, psychiatric medical service, a crisis intervention team that works with law enforcement, a criminal justice services unit, and they maintain their own pharmacy. Colorado's Problem-solving courts use the expertise, resources, and commitment of a multidisciplinary team of professionals to holistically respond to individuals struggling with substance use disorders and mental illness. These courts are locally designed and use a collaborative approach to match participants with appropriate levels of supervision, treatment, and support to help them overcome barriers in their journey towards recovery.

GraceFull Foundation exists to cultivate a healthier, more connected and stronger community. They do this by providing a home in Littleton where people of all backgrounds can gather, eat well, and be inspired to give back. GraceFull Community Cafe is a "pay what you can" cafe and provides access to a fresh healthy meal to everyone. Summit Healing is proud to collaborate with these organizations and departments, forming an integrated network of care for our residents. As the cornerstone of this network, Summit Healing provides a safe, diverse, inclusive, and stable sober living environment, serving as the foundation upon which our comprehensive services are built and interconnected. These partnerships have solidified Summit Healing as a vital pillar in the Denver Metro area's recovery and crisis support network.