Justin knows the impact that Ready to Work had on his life is a generational one.

When his children were young, he was a successful sales manager at a Denver car dealership and later for a Boulder tire company. However, the dysfunction of an alcohol-fueled home and constant arguments with his then-wife took a toll on the entire family. Eventually, multiple DUIs caught up to him and he received a 23-month department of corrections sentence. His eldest child, daughter Taryn, quickly became the parentified child, helping care for and provide comfort to her two younger brothers.

After his release from prison, he discovered Bridge House and Ready to Work, realizing the program, “had a better long-term success plan that included rebuilding a relationship with my kids.”

While in the program a full year Justin had supervised visits with his kids in Longmont, “I became the DHS poster child. Whatever they wanted me to do I did. Visits? I got there early every time,” despite the RTD bus schedule. His daughter Taryn shares, “I felt like my parents were not present.”

“When I shifted my attitude and did everything they wanted, their (DHS’s) attitude towards me changed. The system went from his ex-wife doing no wrong and me being the bad guy to the complete opposite.”

When he graduated Ready to Work in 2019 he was hired as the Boulder house manager. In 2023, he got his Peer and Family Specialist certification and now works as a Behavioral Health Case Manager, helping the trainees at Ready to Work through the same obstacles he has overcome himself.

Ready to Work staffers had his back every step of the way, “The staff would call people on my behalf. There were times they would go full pit bull on people to help me get my kids back.”

Justin was very successful during his time in the program; “I didn’t have a single hot UA; I didn’t get into any trouble at the house; I could bring my kids into the house whenever I wanted. The way I parented early on wasn’t right. But there are no support systems for men going through what I was trying to go through. Ready to Work was refreshing and supportive every step of the way.”

He got his own place and his oldest son moved in with him. Three months later CPS called and his second son moved in. His daughter was his biggest worry. She was home the longest and saw the destruction of her parents’ marriage and Justin thought she’d hate him forever. “I never knew what I was going to get when my dad came home, but mostly, I was afraid of him,” Taryn shares.

Now all of his kids tell him that he’s a really good dad and that they love him. Justin gets to see his daughter welcoming clients at the Ready to Work front desk. His sons work at Community Table Kitchen each summer. Bridge House is truly the family employer. Taryn marvels at the change, “Bridge House didn’t give me back my dad. They introduced me to him.”

“That’s why I continue to work here- everyone here wants you to succeed. It’s a great environment.

I don’t know where they’d end up had I not found Ready to Work. I know they won’t parent the same way I did. Bridge House has had a generational impact on our family,” Justin concluded.