Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis and Shelly Bornstein.
When we began our non-profit, we had a vision to help fill a gap in Summit County, Ohio. I believed that we would buy the lot where my son was found and offer hope to those struggling. In June of 2016, right after we began our non-profit, my husband, Travis, as a local Teamster President, gave a speech at their 5-year convention in Las Vegas to over 5,000 Teamsters from across the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada. He shared our story, and our vision to buy this land and make a difference. https://www.
After his speech, Teamsters began lining up at the microphone and making pledges to support our non-profit. In an hour a forty-five minutes, we had pledges for just under 1.4 million dollars. They also took the largest floor donation of $22,000 in the history of the Teamsters. We received around 1.375 million over the next months.
This gave us a chance to dream out what we would do and how we would fill the gaps in our community. We bought the property but soon found that our vision was too big for this lot. In 2017, we were donated 10 wooded acres on a 100-acre historic property in Summit County. We worked hard developing our plan, trying to build a commercial building and unbelievably, we had to raise a couple more million to build what we wanted of at least 6,000 square feet. Our dream seemed to fall apart alongside Covid, as prices to build skyrocketed, and we were left feeling hopeless and defeated. But soon, once we picked ourselves back up, we decided that we could build a really nice house for over a million dollars. We wanted to build something unique and with an “Awe” factor. So that when people walked into the building, they sensed their value and importance as they walked through the door. We were able to drive 3 hours away to a home built by an Amish builder and instantly knew that we could make this home fit our dreams if we built it commercial…
It took us seven years, almost to the day of starting our non-profit, to move into our new 7,500-square-foot log cabin. We named this building Tyler’s Redemption Place after our son. Hope United – Tyler’s Redemption Place became the first Recovery Community Organization (RCO) in Summit County. An RCO is run by at least 51% of those in recovery (board) and offers support and advocacy for those on their recovery journey. Our RCO is based on the concept of mind, body, spirit in a community setting. So, everything we do is holistic.
We offer free Peer Support Services for people to drop in and connect with our peers onsite. We are open 6 days a week, offering many different recovery meetings, life-skills classes, wellness programs (yoga, drumming, breath class), art classes, bible studies, chess club, and many other programs. We also offer social events like recovery dinners, concerts, bonfire, cornhole, game nights, etc. During our open hours, anyone can come have a cup of coffee, meet a friend, play pool, visit our loft library, work out in our gym, or meditate/relax in our “Salt Cave at the Cabin”. It is a safe space for those in recovery to continue to walk out their recovery journey. For as long as they like.
We also offer family support for family members struggling, “Loving with Grace” and Grief Support for families who have lost a loved one to addiction, “The Well”. Our families also help support us by volunteering, donating, and being a part of all we do. Family support is so crucial to healing.
Tyler’s Redemption Place was built out of so much love and miracles. I have not even shared about my husbands and I faith journey, after our son’s death. There is really too much to share. But the Lord’s hand was definitely guiding us and providing for us to have the resources to build Tyler’s Redemption Place. In the 7 years between starting our non-profit and getting our building built, there were so many times that felt so long and hard. Times that we wondered if it was ever going to happen. But, also along this journey, God gave us signs and comfort to know that in his timing, Tyler’s Redemption Place would prevail. But, even with the signs, it is still really hard to persevere when you are seeing nothing happen for long periods of time. I told my husband that God knew what he was doing when he chose us because we are both really stubborn, just like Tyler. And even though many times we would reach rock bottom, we could not let go of this dream and eventually would pull ourselves back up and continue on.
There is so much more I could add, but this is the short version of how Tyler’s Redemption Place came to be. We have been open for almost 1 year, and last month, we had over 1,000 people came through our center. We are already in need of putting in another parking lot because, during busy times, we are struggling to provide enough parking. Today, we have 4 employees and are looking to grow by about 2 more. Tyler’s Redemption Place is everything I could ever imagine. It is giving hope to so many, and it is in the individual stories that reveal how lives are being transformed, one day at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It took us seven years to navigate our plans and build and open Tyler’s Redemption Place. It was a very hard journey. We began not knowing much of anything about a non-profit. We became certified in the state of Ohio as a Peer Run Organization and learned much about grant writing, quick books, connections to other organizations, etc. There were so many times that this all felt so foreign to us. So many times, I would cry, questioning God on what he was doing and why it was taking so long. We also were navigating very unfamiliar territory of grief. The worst grief of losing a child. We were dealing with trauma and the stigma of addiction. None of this is easy and is actually a lifelong journey so navigating our grief alongside our efforts had many growing opportunities. We also had to navigate all this within our marriage. And so, at times it was very therapeutic, other times it pulled us in different directions.
We began with blueprints and plans to build commercial, but we needed a couple more million. We spent much time trying to raise more funds, but no one wants to give to a new organization who has not proven themselves. After years of trying to make the commercial build happen, we finally went to a log home plan, which would be built commercially. The 10 acres we had needed 80 trees taken down to build, and all the plans to build this cabin were slow the entire way. All the permits and leg work were so hard at times. Even after we committed to building, I believe it took over 2 1/2 years to get it finished.
Grief in itself was a challenge. Many times, the distraction was great, but the grief always creeped back, challenging us to work through a deeper issue. I also ran our grief support group out of different churches for around 6 1/2 years before we got in. This was challenging, and also working with so much unexpected, stigmatized grief can be exhausting. So many unnecessary lives lost. It is not easy to not let this overtake you at times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are Summit County, Ohio’s first Recovery Community Organization (non-profit). We have one of the largest and most beautiful RCOs in the country. Until recently, there was not much money being put into Recovery, and because of our donations, we were able to build what we believe should be the standard, something people can be proud of.
We specialize in substance use recovery, advocating for recovery and family support. I am most proud that my husband, Travis, and I were able to dream out this vision by using facts that less than 30% of those in recovery can make it one year. But if you can help people get past the year and between 3 and 5 years, they have an 84% chance of maintaining recovery. We have built a safe space to offer hope by helping people heal holistically in a loving community. All on 10 beautiful, wooded acres that feels so far from the city but is less than 5 miles.
I believe that our high standards in all we do sets us apart from others. We work hard at everything we do. We are huge advocates of serving others. Our faith leads us in all we do.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think the risk for us was in telling the world from day one that we were going to build Tyler’s Redemption Place. We didn’t know exactly what the business would look like, but we laid our reputation down with everyone around us. Many who started with us eventually left. It was a long journey, and most lost faith in the project. But we do have a small few who have been with us since the beginning, and believed in our journey and what we said we would do.
I do not think my husband and I are big risk seekers. But I do think that it was a risk to tell the media, the community, friends, etc., that we had this big vision, not knowing how we would actually make it happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hopeunited.life
