We’ll answer
any question you have.

Organization

Restoring Hearts Supporting Hands
501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 93-4976456
Incorporated December 2023
Serving El Paso, Teller & Pueblo Counties, Colorado

Program Activity — Year 1

Approximately 50 community outreach events since Summer 2025. An estimated 40–60 unique individuals reached across El Paso and Pueblo Counties. 15–20 consistent voluntary returners with no enrollment requirement. 2 documented Tier 2 progressions: one individual entered inpatient rehabilitation and transitioned to sober living; one individual established a weekly volunteer placement at the Humane Society. Self-funded Year 1 on approximately $3,000–$4,000 in direct participant compensation and event costs.

Transparency

Candid Gold Seal of Transparency. IRS determination letter, current financials, and Form 990 available on request. We answer questions directly, quickly, and in plain language.

What we measure

Our outcomes framework tracks what clinical measures miss: pyramid tier progression (are people moving toward peer leadership?), community anchor establishment at 90 days, recovery stability, and purpose engagement. Clinical oversight is provided quarterly by our Clinical Director, Dr. Alfonso Cappa-Mélendez, PsyD, a licensed psychologist with seventeen years of trauma and addiction experience.

What we are not

We are a non-clinical program. No diagnosis, no treatment, no case management. We operate as a flank to clinical treatment — creating the conditions that make treatment possible for people who can’t yet access it. When clinical care is needed, we refer warmly and we stay.

Cash compensation

We pay participants in cash to attend Tier 1 events. No strings. This is a core design feature, not an incentive program. The people we serve have been conditioned by their circumstances to respond to immediate resources — and we meet them there. We maintain a full participation log. The research on immediate compensation in recovery engagement is clear: it works because it meets people where the psychology of addiction actually is.

Governance

A seven-member independent board: military command leadership (Bronze Star, 25-year Army veteran); government finance and CPA oversight; lived recovery experience; county human services and referral infrastructure; licensed clinical psychology (17 years, trauma and addiction); healthcare legal counsel (26 years, UCHealth Parkview SVP/General Counsel); and chaplaincy and faith integration. Staff and board roles are distinct. Program data reviewed quarterly at the board level.

One more thing

We report what didn’t work alongside what did. We treat outcomes data as a learning tool, not a scorecard. And we don’t take pictures of the people we serve — not because we can’t, but because they are not projects. Their autonomy and dignity matter more than our proof of impact.

We don't take pictures. You're not a project.