Episode 64

hey everybody and welcome to another exciting episode of Finding Peaks Yours Truly president and founder Christopher Michael Burns also known as the company cheerleader and um in a motivator of some sorts I remember director of motivation director of motivate motivational motivational uh followed by my co-host our chief clinical Officer Jason friezma and our guest today Sylvan wolf who is an amazing professional but even better human so excited to have him on the show um Sylvan wolf is our intake coordinator he has also worked with Peaks as a client care aide for what a couple years yeah about a year and a half two years so grateful to have Sylvan on the show I can’t wait to jump into the topic what I really am excited to talk about today and I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Sylvan over the last year every couple of weeks on the personal side and talk about professional stuff as well and I just want to do a deep dive on your experience personally throughout getting into recovery and what that looked like the overcoming of adversity kind of what you walked through a little bit there and what you found and then we’ll get into kind of the professional side but I want to allow for you to kind of introduce the folks to kind of what I would consider what are the most authentic recovery stories I’ve ever been a part of awesome okay well my name is Sylvan and I’m an addict I thought I’d just start with that um because that’s what I’m used to a large part of my story is a 12-step that said I didn’t start there I would try to find anything else that worked anything else I had a lot of ideas I started using drugs and alcohol in all forms at about eight years old it really became a daily thing 1314 marijuana so with that uh turned into alcohol opiates which then turn into heroin meth all the good stuff um and it was so confusing actually to all of a sudden be a junkie right I use that word um because that’s that’s what it was I I hated myself honestly um so yeah I I started going to treatment centers when I was about 19 um the awful experience of opiate withdrawal would become a weekly if not monthly thing that is super traumatic and if anybody else has walked through it they know that um detoxes at first right and then um Parker Valley Hope uh I went there four times and then from there I went um well luckily you guys were working with Parker Valley Hope um I heard of this six-month Treatment Center um that drove their clients around in Mercedes vans so that stood out um hit us in the beginning when we had the jalopy yeah no seatbelt something about a hundred dollars a week and I you know fortunately at the time I was homeless and um I mean just desperate so desperate um


couldn’t figure it out man um Brandon came and picked me up gave me a tour that was really cool he bought me a pack of cigarettes when I’m sure he wasn’t supposed to and and I’m just oh just so grateful I can’t begin to describe it um because I came to Peaks and for the first time I felt seen um in that place of early recovery right that’s where I am just I feel psycho I I don’t know what’s happening inside of me I’m detoxing I was detoxing from Suboxone at the time um


and yeah yeah it was hell at first I was taught to work out um we didn’t have anything else to do you just drop us at the gym so there’s that um that was back when we need to go to 24. yeah yeah and then I ended up getting a job through there because it just starts to work out right um when when you’re showing up and things just start to fall into place it’s really really cool so yeah I um went to Peaks did six months there and uh came straight from the homeless shelter uh to Parker belly hope to you guys and man um there’s a lot there there really is a lot of gratitude today and a lot of stories um but anyway I um went from there relapsed because sometimes that happens and um I just I needed to come home the springs is my home I could not uh make it in Denver I just couldn’t that’s where I ran and when I came back here I just I didn’t know that I already built my community Through Peaks and that’s what was so cool is like I I had a place to land came back here and got a job at Peaks as a CCA and that was it you could uh life could end right there I’d be good right yeah um that was never going to happen that was never going to happen I was the guy that was never gonna get this seriously um and I’m fascinated that I’m in recovery today it in Peaks is a huge part of that yeah you really thank you for sharing that so beautifully man and it’s interesting to think because you know back in Peaks culture in 2016 early 2017 you know we were going to 12-step meetings each and every day yeah and I wanna I don’t I don’t know that you were resistant to that process but you’re out there laying the groundwork for a community that you would return to several months later to be invited back into the recovery community and I know that you have a very strong foothold in the 12-step community and that’s what you use for your community-based resource but what has that differently than potentially the relationship you have you know like with a family of origin um and they’re Primal people what have the men and women of 12 step the people that have shown up for you what has that meant for you and what story had it been able to allow yourself to tell that you weren’t able to tell when you first got to Peaks well um I I tried some n a stuff out in Denver I I was a meeting goer not a step worker essentially um I I felt good and kind of thought that well the things that you can the things you hear in meetings first of all um you kind of pick what you want to hear in the beginning it’s very it’s very weird um but you go to enough of them and the people who initially upset you um you start to see them in a new light and then you also start to hear the solution which has been happening the whole time actually um and so that said I am really blessed that um you guys were like hey it’s a a and we’re we’re doing this and I was completely adverse to that yeah um I was like na is my heart and AAA is old people who don’t let heroin addicts in the meeting right so um yeah there are sick people everywhere you go if you choose to see them you will find them um so yeah I uh went to almost two meetings every day through Peaks and you know I I was apathetic right I had I had some adversity but then um it was just apathy what what stood out to me was the other men that I went through this process with that I mean we’re just like no no 12-step sorry no well sorry you’re going um that was kind of the approach back then um and and I watched these men uh have sponsies six months later right have a life in the community and it it just so happens I believe that 12-step uh can meet you exactly where you’re at and it happens to hit on key points that can reach a large diversity of people and help them recover right Community um humility through the higher power stuff right that can be difficult but it is of your own choosing so there’s that and um I don’t really know if I’m answering your question honestly I’m just kind of throwing it out there it really you are you’re heading on it perfectly because I think when we’re connected with a whole heart and counter balancing within a community of recovering individuals we can really Propel that recovery story forward and get I think what we’re all chasing which is like just give me some clarity like where do I go next who am I doing it with them why does it matter yeah and it wasn’t until and I have a very similar experience in 12-step now I’ve um I haven’t been in that for a long time my recovery is a bit different but I still have a tremendous amount of love for that group of people that enabled me to tell a story in a more authentic way and had it not been for that stepping stone for me we most certainly wouldn’t be here it’s so funny how it shifted when you met me I’m like 12 12 12 12. and now now we’re like over here I’m like I haven’t been in a while and you’re like 12. yeah I love it I love it it’s really cool and just because I don’t go to Alcoholics Anonymous anymore and just because I don’t go pick up a chip there it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a tremendous amount of gratitude showed up for me and treated me like family yeah how has it been for you Jason because Jason even though he’s not in recovery um for substances and not in the 12 Steps he actually was a big Pusher of the 12-step program I think we all were because it was one of the it was the greatest value-based resource we had yeah and maybe that we still have but we’ve started to create broadness in our approach to aftercare planning in a more individualistic individualized approach but how has it been for you Jay because you and I used to sit around hey there’s got to be two meetings a day man we got to get you a sponsor first week let’s go we’re calling them every day we’re meeting them with them weekly how has this shift been for you yeah I think it’s been interesting and really you know from the clinical lens like uh people that are struggling with substance use also usually have a lot of Psychosocial stressors we call them that are uh creating problems and one of them is certainly uh a disconnection from community and I suspect uh Sylvan when you when you’re homeless on the street there’s people around but there’s not a lot of community around and certainly adding a 12-step meeting to somebody’s life can be so empowering because you go from nobody around and nobody understands me and honestly quite frankly usually thinking you’re the worst person on the planet or there’s no way to save me and then yeah uh you get around a bunch of other people that have walked uh similar steps as you and and have has have similar experiences that that sense of community and building that Community I think is so um incredibly important and and you know it’s interesting Chris like I when I look at the 12 steps what I really am drawn to so much in in the AAA Community is actually the 12 traditions which really kind of keeps people from profiting from it yeah and um you know making the community the actual thing that matters most not necessarily uh the uh the personalities but just really kind of the people around in the and the structure of the program yeah principles before Personality yeah and I love what you hit on too man you really explained the approach of 12-step very eloquently now it won’t fit for some people but man what a thing to be written in 1935 and still speak to anyone oh man anyone right and it still it speaks to a lot of people and um so I really appreciate you checking in with that and Sylvan is still an avid member of the 12-step Community sponsors people he’s a champion for marginalized communities I mean he is a champion for a lot of things but specifically recovery and vulnerable people but over the last year you and I have had the opportunity to meet and discuss different issues and and different opportunities that we could move into in an effort to be great for the people that we want to be great for and you’ve taken some suggestions in that and you’ve done kind of your own Journey kind of on the clinical side outside of 12-step and what has that done for you a bit differently or that maybe has supported your 12-step approach or just really created a nice beautiful Foundation maybe that you couldn’t see yeah good question yeah I I came to find over time um working with guys that sometimes we can’t address the trauma um um as much as we need to for some people through a strict recovery path right um I do believe I needed a restricted recovery path in the beginning right um but that that has to start opening up or you may not be of help like you could and so I I started doing SE somatic experiencing um I I didn’t really notice much of uh the results others kind of told me uh that I wasn’t as nervous or something super nervous right now but that’s for no reason yeah um and um yeah I just slowly began to just feel more comfortable in my skin it has aided my ability to help this still suffering addict and now we’re approaching mental health and I I love that there’s something there um that I I didn’t know I had to offer and that I could um and yeah I I think that as long as I remain open um and try new things in an effort to grow that it’s going to be okay you know um so yeah uh they they’ve been great and I’m sure I’ll try something new next year yeah I I love how you said that too man it’s just like when we look down at the tool kit you know did I put another arrow in my quiver yeah and that’s kind of how you describe that and it’s like it’s another arrow it’s another opportunity for another situation what a concept man being safe in my body you know really really difficult and I would have told you probably at six years sober and 12-step haven’t worked the steps five to ten times sponsored a lot of guys dude I’m safe in my body but I actually never unzip the bottom part of my backpack you know I only open the top but there’s this bottom compartment that I didn’t want anybody to see and that’s for me in that SC work that I was able to explore identify and move through and a lot like you and I know I’m one of those people that have mentioned it to you but the Stillness right feeling safe in my body and comfortable in different scenarios I think that’s what that SC work has done for me and what I’ve seen it clearly do for you as a person and as a professional and as someone in recovery I um I think for most if not all of my life I was constantly trying to change the way I feel because it was it wasn’t okay I think some people confuse why somebody may use a substance uh they may think well is the high that great that you would do this to your family and my argument while I believe you’re accountable for your actions uh regardless um it’s just helped me understand a little bit more of maybe why I acted the way I did and um


I lost where I was going with that and really offer yourself to I think you were leaning into to be able to give yourself more grace right and insert that for yourself and when I can insert Grace for myself give myself like dude you’re doing yeah I can then give that and deliver that in an authentic and vulnerable way to the people that you do you know which is really really cool proud of you man it’s been a really cool Journey now now we’re here at Peaks he’s back at Peaks he’s our intake coordinator um and Sylvan stepped away for about six months six months yeah Sylvan got an awesome opportunity um it was the first position one of the first positions in Colorado Springs he got hit up by um the fire department and went down there and was their first recovery Navigator and just a really cool position because if you know anything about Sylvan as he says he’s he started out there and now he’s in here and there is no one better at triage recovery than Sylvan wolf he is the type of guy that will walk into the community into someone who’s homeless and sit with them and hold space with them in a very very intimate way and so when this position came up for this recovery Navigator that’s what it was it was going into the community and making sure that these people knew that there were resources and knew that they were worth and valuable enough to receive these resources and so when you told me about the job I was like dude if that’s not called sylvan’s job I don’t know what it is and you went over there for six months and you had a good experience and you grew through that process but I think you always knew in some way shape or form that you would find yourself back at Peaks but maybe chat with us a little bit towards the end of the show here on what you gain from that experience and how it’s made you better um through your journey or Through Your Role today at Peaks well um when I started as a CCA uh I I kind of already was like what’s going to be next down the line right this is awesome I love this I grew into that I got good at that but ultimately uh Peaks has been a safe place for me right and I think I needed to see myself leave for a bit try new things and I I got to get closer with the community the homeless Community the incarcerated community and really still see myself Thrive there learned some case management skills um experience some heavy stuff and it was growth right regardless I couldn’t wait to come back and I’m so glad I have yeah yeah I was sitting with Sylvan and he goes am I eligible for rehire I said next week let’s go he’s like okay I said of course you are man yeah and it was it was a couple week process but it’s it’s been really great seeing you back on campus and I just feel like like I need to say this because I think sometimes when we bring stories in here for some viewers it’s like whoa that’s that’s intense that’s a lot those substances are scary right the stories on the street that’s whoa I’m not there I want to Define for the viewers just how thin that Razor’s Edge that Cliff’s Edge when we are out there trying to get safe cope with substances yeah the the distance between Chris Burns sitting in this chair is the president and founder and living in a cardboard box out there is so slim yeah right and so I just want to offer up Grace for some of these stories and a little bit of compassion because um I’ve met amazing people that unfortunately find themselves under a bridge today and it could have been me and I’m so grateful but for the grace of God I get to kind of sit here and share with you all but it’s a thin line and it’s a Razor’s Edge and we have been really lucky to be in here and be on this recovery side and walk with people into peak’s recovery so thanks for coming on man so glad to be here yeah really appreciate you thanks Jason um thank you all it has been absolutely amazing please check us out this Sunday at 6 PM you can find us on all of your podcasts I think I saw us on Spotify the other day course we’re on tick tock tick tock tick tock Instagram Facebook check us out man we’re bringing on great professionals but even better humans see us next time peace