Knapp House is a nonprofit organization built by people who are in recovery who understand the difficulties of starting a new life that is free of drugs and alcohol.
Zack Nolan- Founder/President
It’s hard to pinpoint the unique set of occurrences that lead me to start Knapp House, but I can say that I have been taught that I cannot keep what I have unless I give it away. My life these days has so much meaning and so much beauty; it’s more than I could have imagined for myself when I finally decided to turn my life around.
I grew up care free as a teenager without any guidance. When people tried to help me, I was unwilling to accept it. I had hate, fear and abandonment instilled in me. The law could not stop me and neither could the ones that loved me from self-destructive behaviors. After six years of substance abuse and trouble, I realized through my own life experiences, that life wasn’t what I had made it out to be; or at least it didn’t have to be that way anymore.
I came to founding Knapp House as a mere stroke of luck. Lucky to have lived through the darkness, when some friends hadn’t, I was accepted by people in recovery once I became willing to take action to change my old ways. I was finally willing to do whatever it took to achieve lasting sobriety and find a new purpose in life, no matter how goofy some of it seemed at the time.
Nowadays, I can’t give enough away because my new experience is that the more I give away, the more freedom my soul gains. Knapp House is my way of giving back to the community and the people who walked before me and the people who are following me. I can honestly say, it’s the most spiritually rewarding thing I have ever done. Thank you for letting me be of service.
Rick German- Counselor, Chaplain, CADCI, CGAC1, CGRM, CRM
I am a realist that doesn’t take himself too serious. I bring a sense of humor into my office that’s not demeaning or rude. I strive to have each one of my clients feel loved, believed and understood. I bring an experience into the session that only comes from truly experiencing the feelings of a client that doesn’t have anything left but to look up and ask for help. I work very diligently to continuously stay humble and teachable and do the best with what I currently have to offer.
Hear more of Rick’s story in his Video Testimony
Jason Trujillo- Certified Mentor/House Manager
I spent the better part of the first 30 years of my life with a skewed perception of life. I was always attempting to fill an internal void with external toxins and chemicals. I never really admitted that I had issues with drugs and alcohol until I had pushed away my family and myself until I lost the ability to control my actions. It wasn’t until losing the privilege of being a father to my beautiful daughters, when I decided to stop the behaviors that created the dark, hopeless pit that I was living in. I have decided to use my energy towards recovery, because I would never wish the life of destruction, pain that addiction causes on even my worst enemy.
Working as a House Manager with 18 individuals has granted me the ability to reconnect with humanity and the community, along with the benefits of regaining my dignity and drive for life. I will be involved with the mentorship program and I am working towards the goal of being a certified drug and alcohol counselor in the next 2 years. I am able to follow a new path in life now by understanding what my actions were that brought me to the dark places where I don’t want to go back to. My life in sobriety has offered me the ability to love myself, my family and my friends in a way that I never thought was possible.