Summary
Meet Derrick Stephens, Bridges to Change’s Reentry Program Manager for Multnomah County. From program participant to team leader, Derrick shares his journey, passion for helping others, and commitment to supporting individuals through recovery, housing, and reentry.
For Derrick Stephens, working at Bridges to Change is more than a career; it’s a chance to help others find the same hope and possibilities he discovered along his path.
As the Reentry Program Manager for Multnomah County, Derrick brings his own lived experience and recovery journey to his work. Once a participant in the program himself, he now leads a team supporting people as they navigate recovery, housing, and reentry. Whether he’s helping case managers work through challenges, connecting participants to resources, or celebrating someone getting the keys to their own apartment, Derrick leads with compassion and a belief in meeting people where they are.
Learn more about his approach to supporting others in recovery, and the personal interests and everyday moments that bring him joy, from his love of music to the positive energy of his coworkers.
How did you first come to Bridges to Change, and what inspired you to return as an employee?
I’ve worked at Bridges to Change for over three and a half years, going on four in January. I’m a Bridges to Change alum. I had some run-ins with the law, as well as challenges with my mental health; that brought me to Arbor House in Clackamas County.
I was in the program for 14 months and gained tools to add to my toolbox. While I was there, I participated in mindfulness groups, DBT, random UAs, recovery groups, and outside meetings a few times a week. I sustained my recovery, and my clean date is 7/18/19, so I just celebrated seven years.
After leaving the program, I started working at Round Table Pizza, then worked my way up to a job at a metal fabrication company, where I eventually became a quality assurance inspector. I was working exhausting hours, and I knew I wanted to give back and help people. It fulfills me and fills my spiritual cup to give back what was so freely given to me.
I knew a previous manager at Bridges, so I asked him to keep an eye out for any opportunities. Once I had been out of the program for 90 days, I got the opportunity to apply.
How has your role at Bridges to Change evolved since you first started?
My first role was as an on-site case manager at the Pine Street house. I lived on-site, essentially serving as the house manager while also working 40 hours a week. That role taught me a lot about setting boundaries.
I did that for about a year before I was encouraged to apply for the Recovery Access Center supervisor position because of the work I was doing at Pine Street. From there, I moved into the program manager position for Multnomah County reentry, which I’ve held for over a year.
What does a typical day or week in your role look like?
That’s a great question. A day in the life! I start by checking emails, then I manage referrals, schedule assessments, and coordinate pickups for releases from Columbia River for the AIP houses. Then, I manage referrals from the Mobile Behavioral Health Team and for the stabilization homes. I also facilitate supervisions with case managers who oversee those houses and help with CareLogic technical issues.
Another aspect of my role is addressing housing or behavioral concerns within the six houses that I oversee. Then, I follow up with supervisions recap to support the case managers so they can walk alongside their participants.
What experiences and training have helped prepare you for the work you do today?
I’ve had a lot of lived experience from growing up in the projects. I had my own issues with addiction and the troubles it caused in my life. For a long time, I didn’t identify with my mental health. I learned through Bridges as an alum how to identify with my mental health and how to address it, whether that’s working with a prescriber or a therapist. I think therapy is really important. It helps me stay grounded.
Also, growing up where I did, I developed my own de-escalation tactics, and I honed how to use them a little better through peer support classes. In 2017, I obtained a peer support specialist certification. I worked for a company that provided peer support services to warming shelters or cooling shelters. I also became a Certified Recovery Mentor (CRM). Since then, though, we’ve moved away from that, and so I completed our in-house peer wellness specialist training.
What do you wish more people understood about recovery, behavioral health, housing instability, or the communities we serve?
That it’s not just based around the 12 steps (NA or AA). There’s Dharma, there’s SMART Recovery, etc. It’s about what best applies to you, where you’re at, and your own autonomy in choosing your route of recovery for yourself. I think a wider lens on where someone is in their recovery could better serve people.
What I wish more people understood about behavioral health and recovery is to use a wider lens and consider what can work based on what someone is experiencing. With behavioral health, I wish it wasn’t all grouped together. I wish people had more empathy and could meet people where they are. I have a hard time with old-fashioned stigma.
Also, when it comes to housing instability – there are a lot of options out there. I don’t think everyone knows how to navigate them all, how they work, whether a certain place has a referring partner, or whether there’s a faster route. If people had info on how to navigate certain places, we could get people into housing sooner.
Which Bridges to Change value connects most closely with you, and how do you put it into practice?
I would say compassion, because I like to lean into empathy and put myself in someone else’s shoes. A lot of the time with mental health, I’ve thought, “Man, I’ve experienced exactly what they’re going through.” I try to think of the things I could say through the lens of ‘What would I want to hear in that moment?’ ‘What would have helped me when I was going through that?’
What is something you’re especially proud to have contributed to Bridges to Change?
My biggest contribution was helping the Recovery Access Center get started with the previous program manager. She encouraged me to apply for the program manager position. She taught me a lot of things that went a long way and really helped me on my journey. We started from scratch, making lists and rosters, figuring out how breakfast and dinner would work, how the RAs would contribute, and what their end-of-day reports would look like.
I really appreciate the opportunity to supervise there and gain those skills after only a year with the company. I’m happy to have built that program up and to watch people blossom and obtain their own apartments. Participants share photos of signing their leases, and you’re just like, “Oh man!” Watching them go from being houseless for 10 years to coming here, partaking in one-on-ones, getting into treatment, and then transitioning into their own apartment…it’s a beautiful thing to watch.
What is something your coworkers might be surprised to learn about you?
In high school, an art teacher started a breakdancing club. During my lunches, we had ‘club time’ where I would breakdance. That led to dancing on beat and doing hip-hop, and then I started making beats, writing lyrics, producing my own songs, and going to a studio to mix them.
What is your favorite way to recharge or care for your own well-being?
I like meetings because they fill my spiritual cup when I may not realize how low it is. In this work, you can give a lot, so it’s always good to hear something new I haven’t heard before that I can apply to my recovery.
What is something about the people you work with that inspires or uplifts you?
I’m a big believer in energy. My staff always emulates a certain type of energy. I ask them how they’re doing, and their response is, “Hey, I’m blessed and highly favored today. How are you doing?” That type of energy is infectious. It rubs off on me and makes me want to carry myself like that with other people.