STEPS provides practical resources for hurting people to find help, healing, and hope. Everyone hurts at times, because life can be hard. We focus especially on helping people prevent substance abuse and mental health issues from becoming life altering problems by learning practical steps to live life better. These principles can help those struggling with anxiety, addictive habits, or a lack of purpose.  

Years ago, my family faced dark times as three of the four of us struggled with substance abuse or mental health issues. Yet out of those troubles came exciting growth that changed the course of our lives. I learned that many of life’s most harmful issues, including behavioral health problems such as substance abuse and mental health disorders, are not only treatable, they’re preventable! 

STEPS Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit improving behavioral health outcomes through early awareness, prevention, and education. We reach tens of thousands of people annually through seminars, online resources, digital outreach, and collaboration with partner organizations. We deliver scalable, evidence-based prevention and wellness education to help individuals improve their lives and reduce behavioral health crises, equip parents and youth with practical life skills, and enable organizations to help the people they serve.

This book distills the proven wisdom of recovery principles into five steps to improve your life one day at a time. These steps provide practical guidance to help you bring more peace, joy, and purpose into your life. These steps have been used successfully by millions of people all over the world and are embraced by over 200 different recovery groups.  

STEPS is uniquely focused on preventing substance abuse and mental health disorders as well as broader wellness issues through a combination of awareness and education with a proactive approach to prevention. We believe that by reaching people early and equipping them with practical tools and actionable life skills, we can help prevent serious issues from becoming life-altering problems. We then provide them with simple, effective steps they can take to improve their well-being.

We help individuals who may be struggling with behavioral health issues or who want to improve their lives by having a more intentional focus on a wellness-based lifestyle. We serve parents and other caregivers who want to raise kids to be healthy and happy and protect them from the risks they will face as they become teenagers. We help young people themselves including underserved and at-risk youth. And we also equip organizations that work with these populations serve and help the people they care about.  

We have a particular focus on serving at-risk populations that include: (a) Those with behavioral health problems because over one-half of families have someone with those issues; (b) Parents, families, and groups who want to help those who are struggling; (c) Teenagers because 90% of issues start in those early years and underserved youth who come from financially-disadvantaged communities.

Half of families have someone struggling with substance abuse or mental health. 90% of those people are not getting the help they need. About 1 in 7 Americans will face substance abuse addictions. The #1 cause of death in the US from age 18-to-44 is fentanyl. 19% of high school students seriously consider suicide (22% in 2025). Mental health affects adults (23%), young adults (36%), and youth (46%).

They can achieve greater peace by learning how to deal with life more calmly and handle anxiety. People will find more joy and hope as they develop spiritually and grow closer to God. Along the way, they will learn to live more effectively and that will lead them to find more contentment, experience better relationships, and develop a stronger sense of purpose.

STEPS is uniquely focused on the prevention of behavioral health issues by equipping people with wellness-based life skills. We address root cause issues of problems with proven, evidence-based principles and offer practical steps people can take on a daily basis. We integrate faith and science to provide grace-driven education to meet people where they are. Our content is timeless and universal, and we utilize scalable digital outreach and collaborative partnerships to multiple and expand our impact over time.  

Our family’s journey included a series of deep trials. Family members faced battles with depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse. My wife and I dealt with financial problems and marriage issues along the way. In spite of those challenging experiences, we now feel our lives have been deeply blessed. Through these traumatic events, I acquired in-depth experience with the life improvement concepts that are used in this ministry. I have seen those principles work in my own life and the lives of my family as well as with thousands of others.

STEPS collaborates with churches, nonprofits, schools and companies to bring proactive, proven education to the people they serve. We can provide an easy-to-implement content portal to augment their personal development, wellness, and benefits programs with no additional staffing. We also offer speaking engagements, seminars, and webinars on many life-enhancing topics. One of the best ways organizations can serve the community is to become a STEPS Sponsor by financially supporting one of our strategic initiatives.