The numbers tell the need.

In the five years that Trudy Strewler Hodges has been the CEO of Serenity Recovery Connection, clients have ballooned from 600 served when she started the job to 5,000 participants today.

Support groups have grown from a handful to 20 per week, anything from Wellbriety to Recovery Dharma to Craft Family Group.

And the organization’s budget has quadrupled, from $500,000 to more than $2 million.

The demand for the peer-to-peer coaching the organization provides for people entering or in recovery is a testament to the pervasiveness of substance abuse, and the essential role the nonprofit plays in helping people regain control of their lives, she said.

“I’ve learned far more than I’ve ever given,” Hodges said before being feted at a retirement party held Thursday. “It’s been a wonderful, moving and compassionate adventure, and I’ve loved the journey.”

After working for 26 years as the CEO at Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, and at Serenity Recovery Connection since 2019, she’s leaving her career to tend to ill family members.

“I love the agency and working there; it’s been a very difficult decision, but I feel I’m being called to step away,” Hodges said.

Founder Cathy Plush, who said she saw a lack of support in the community for people suffering from substance use disorder and their families, started the organization as Springs Recovery Connection in 2014 to fill the gap, laying the groundwork for five years before Hodges took over.

“I’m standing on her shoulders,” Hodges said. “She set the foundation that helped launch us to the next stage.”

During Hodges’ tenure, the organization moved from a cramped office inside a Westside church into its own building at 985 W. Fillmore St. and changed its name to Serenity Recovery Connection.

“The path Trudy has set for the organization is pretty significant,” said board chair Jason DeaBueno. “She demonstrated the capacity and leadership skills to attract a lot of dollars to procure the building, which allows us to have a strong framework for a safe space where people feel like it’s a home away from home while addressing their issues of substance use and working with a peer coach.”

With the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration concluding that peer-to-peer support increases the chance of success in sobriety, Hodges said local programs have expanded to reach incarcerated people in prisons and jails, people involved with seven regional problem-solving courts, and patients in safety-net clinics and hospitals.

This year, Serenity Recovery is launching outplaced coaching in Fountain, Calhan and Teller County.

“So, individuals with the greatest needs don’t have to come to us but we’ll be there for them,” Hodges said.

Substance abuse increased nationwide during the coronavirus years, and the post-pandemic fallout continues with high use of alcohol, pills and street drugs, she said.

“Something I’ve learned and will carry with me is that the stories of participants and staff who are in recovery are so powerful, and I’m in awe of the courage and strength it takes to come out of addiction and step into a new lifestyle,” Hodges said.

The organization’s third CEO is familiar to southern Colorado. Sheri Trahern was selected from a regional pool of 31 applicants and takes over at Serenity Recovery on July 8, DeaBueno said.

She has worked for the past year and a half as chief financial officer and chief operations officer at USA Triathlon. Previously, she worked for 32 years for Centura Health, now CommonSpirit Health, including as chief financial officer and then chief executive officer of St. Thomas More Hospital in Cañon City.

“Sheri has experience in managing, setting strategic initiatives and is a strong ally for the population we support,” DeaBueno said.

Trahern said one of her strengths is figuring out how nonprofits can best use funds.

From her work in health care, Trahern said she knows that mental health issues accompany addiction, and she wants to work on de-stigmatizing substance use disorder in the community.

“I’m excited to continue the trajectory of Serenity Recovery Connection, which has been moving forward and growing over the last 10 years, and to continue the legacy of Cathy and Trudy,” she said.