Escaping the Drift with John Gafford - Jeff Iverson’s Story of Overcoming Addiction and Inspiring Others

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

Growing up, I always thought I had life figured out. But then life threw its challenges my way, much like our guest, Jeff Iverson, CEO of Crossroads. From a rebellious youth in Las Vegas to hitting rock bottom with addiction, Jeff's journey is a profound testament to the resilience of the human spirit. His incredible transformation from a troubled past to a beacon of hope and leadership offers a roadmap for anyone feeling trapped by life's circumstances.Our conversation unfolds a raw narrative of the devastating grip of addiction and the arduous path to recovery. Jeff, alongside others who've faced similar battles, shares stories of despair and rebirth, highlighting the critical role of community support and personal determination. We explore the entrepreneurial spirit that birthed Freedom House, a sanctuary for many seeking to rebuild their lives. Through grit and vision, Jeff demonstrates how pairing mentorship with an unwavering commitment can turn personal struggles into platforms for change.Moreover, we venture into the broader arena of social programs aimed at aiding the homeless and those battling addiction. The Shine a Light Foundation, along with initiatives like Crossroads and Freedom House, symbolizes the power of visionary leadership in crafting lasting solutions. Jeff's dedication shines through as we unravel the success stories of individuals who have turned their lives around, guided by programs that prioritize long-term change over short-term fixes. Join us in celebrating the immense power of transformation and the ripple effect one person's journey can have on an entire community.CHAPTERS (00:00) Escaping the Drift(05:33) The Downward Spiral of Addiction(15:27) From Struggle to Success(24:11) The Rise to General Manager(28:11) Building a Successful Recovery Program(42:13) Serving the Homeless Community in Vegas(47:53) Case Management and Harm Reduction Outreach(52:45) The Power of Transformation(59:58) Supporting 'Escaping the Drift' Podcast💬 Did you enjoy this podcast episode? Tell us all about it in the comment section below! ☑️  If you liked this video, consider subscribing to Escaping The Drift with John Gafford *************💯 About John Gafford: After appearing on NBC's "The Apprentice", John relocated to the Las Vegas Valley and founded several successful companies in the real estate space.➡️ The Gafford Group at Simply Vegas, top 1% of all REALTORS nationwide in terms of production. Simply Vegas, a 500 agent brokerage with billions in annual sales Clear Title, a 7-figure full-service title and escrow company.*************✅ Follow John Gafford on social media:Instagram ▶️ / thejohngaffordFacebook ▶️ / gafford2🎧 Stream The Escaping The Drift Podcast with John Gafford Episode here:Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cWN80gtZ4m4wl3DqQoJmK?si=2d60fd72329d44a9Listen On Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/escaping-the-drift-with-john-gafford/id1582927283 *************#escapingthedrift #jeffiverson #addiction #recovery #transformation #communitysupport #entrepreneurship #socialprograms #homelessness #substanceusedisorder #mentorship #leadership #vision #resilience #personalgrowth #financialstability #empowerment #harmreduction #casemanagement #solarindustry #adaptability #mindsetSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, it's John Gafford from the Escaping the Drift podcast. And big news, my new book, Escaping the Drift is coming out. November the 11th, you can pre-order it right now at thejongafford.com. There are tons of bonuses, tons of giveaways. Get the book. If you are somebody that feels like you might be drifting along, this is for you. If you know somebody that feels like they might be drifting along, this is for you. Available everywhere, all bookstores, everywhere, Amazon, Barnes & Noble's, the whole nine yards.

but pick your copy up right now at the john gaffer.com and get a bunch of the awesome bonuses I've thrown out because I promise you I put my heart and soul into this thing I want it to help you change your life pick it up everywhere well I started smoking and smoking different things around the age of 13 so like my my partying years started it early um and your parents had no idea of this no just clues did your brothers know no no were you hanging up with older kids yes Okay. And just kids you met in the neighborhood. Neighborhood kids, yep.

Okay. So when did it start to go really bad? And now, escaping the drift, the show designed to get you from where you are to where you want to be. I'm John Gafford and I have a knack for getting extraordinary achievers to drop their secrets to help you on a path to greatness. So stop drifting along, escape the drift. And it's time to start. right now. Back again, back again for another episode of like it says in the opening man, the podcast that gets you from where you are to where you want to be. And today, kids in the

studio, I got a special treat. This is a dude who has overcome, I mean, more than I can even believe, right? And if you look at your situation, you're thinking, man, I'm here. How am I going to ever get there? This is a story that is going to get you on the right track to helping when you escape the drift. Sitting in the studio today is the CEO of Crossroads. His name is Jeff Iverson. Jeff, welcome to the program. John, welcome.

Good to have you, man. Good to have you. Dude, but I heard your story. I was blown away. And I can't wait to get into it because so many people look at where they are in life and they just think I can't get out of here. Like their situation is so bleak or so grim

are so dead-ended that they just can't escape and get to the next level. They can't get out of where they are. They can't escape the drift. Right. But you screwed your life up worse than just about anybody that I've ever heard and have turned this and have come out of the other side of this 20 years later. I mean, one of the most successful dudes around. So let's start with your growing up.

You grew up here in Vegas, right? I was born and raised in Vegas. All right. Born and raised in Vegas. What was that like? Mom, dad together? Mom died together. Nice, nice household. I grew up with four brothers. I can't blame like the course I took on any exterior factors other than I took the course. And so you said earlier when we were talking about it, you said growing up here in Vegas, you just couldn't wait to take advantage of what Vegas offered. So talk about that.

So, you know, I mean, I grew up like with my parents taking us to Circus Circus. seeing the casinos and, you know, the strip and, you know, I just, so many things were taboo. I grew up in the Mormon religion, you know, alcohol was taboo, smoking's taboo, you know, gambling is taboo, like all these things that were off limits. There was just something stirring inside of me. Like, I just couldn't, I was a rebellious kid and I just couldn't wait to like find out what was so wrong with all these things. So that's interesting, man, growing up Mormon. because a lot of people, if you're listening to this from somewhere else in the country, we have a huge Mormon population here in Las Vegas.

There's a lot of Mormons who live here. That lifestyle as a kid, you never bought into that. Were you always feeling rebellious to that? Or is this something you grew into as like a teenager, where you always kind of like, man, I don't know about this. I was always rebellious to that. Always. Yeah.

What about your brothers? My whole family is active. I would consider myself a very spiritual being, but not a very religious being. Yeah. I can, I can, I can, yeah, I can agree with that. The road I took, you know, I was, I was very rebellious against, you know, the things I was being taught in religion and I was rebellious against, like, law enforcement and I just, I just never wanted to, like, conform. And I think, like, growing up, and even as a dad now, if I looked at my sons, making those kinds of choices, I would think, like, what's wrong with them? but like sometimes it's like what's right with them like you know what I mean does that yeah no

no it does because it's about perspective yeah what was the first thing that you did to kind of go outside your boundaries of what you shouldn't have been doing well I started I started using well I started smoking and smoking different things around the age of 13 so like my my partying years started it early um and your parents had no idea of this no idea just closed did your brother No. No. Were you hanging up with older kids? Yes. Okay. And just kids you met in the neighborhood. Neighborhood kids, yep. Okay. So when did it start to go really bad? I would say by like the beginning of my senior year, I had, I had escalated my experimenting to different things, including like, you know, harder drugs. which, um, you know, it just continued to spiral, you know, and, and for, for a while, for many

years, I was able to hide it and I was able to continue to, you know, hold the job and things like that. But by my early 20s, when, when I hit the, when I was like old enough to go to the casinos and gamble and go to the clubs and stuff, I really lost control. What were you doing? Uh, I started, well, I, you know, somebody offered me meth once at, uh, I, I don't, I don't know how long you've been here, but there was a club called Utopia. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Yep. And if you were like, if you like to party, you could do this drug and you could party all weekend and still make it to work on Monday. And like, that was like, you know, that sounded like a dream come true to me. You know what I mean? And so like, you know, I slowly over the years just became like addicted to these substances and these activities and I lost my drive. yeah I lost my drive when did uh when did it start to affect you at work by mid 20s I was

unemployable um at this at the age of like 27 I became homeless well so what were you doing for money during that time uh well I got in I got involved in distributing the wrong things yep and then I started manufacturing the wrong things like straight breaking bad style you were yeah Wow. And I, and I, eventually the law caught up with me and I became a felon, but I'm very grateful for those experiences now because it was the criminal justice system that led me into my recovery journey. So did you try rehab ever before that?

Or was it just like you were just balls to the wall right up until you got caught? So I was, my first rehab was in, in 2000. my family was like there's something wrong with you like you know they didn't know what it was i would never admit it you know in this town back then it was who you knew so every job i ever got i was kind of juiced into you know you know my dad knew a lot of people and was always like helping me out um but but by you know my my mid-20s that stopped too like word got around yeah What were the charges you got arrested for? So my first criminal charges were manufacturing and distributing high-level trafficking, methamphetamine.

So walk me through that bust when they caught you. What happened? So I was actually at a friend's house showing off my most recent product, and his house got rated for firearms. And while, and I had some stuff. in my backpack that I had, I admitted to it being mine, otherwise my friend would have got in trouble. Yeah. They didn't find any firearms, but they found my backpack and what was in it. And so I went to jail and then they impounded my car and searched my car and found the chemicals to make the meth. So that's where the manufacturing charge came in. So you were literally

just wrong place, wrong time. Like they weren't raid in your house. No. Oh, man. And that was, so that was in 2001, and I didn't end up getting clean until 2006. So I spent between 2001 and 2006 fighting the system, I grew up with a dad who taught me that, like, if you can see it and you can believe it, you can achieve it, right? And I was trying to pour this energy and that mindset into the wrong things. Does that make sense? Yeah. you know what I mean like like I was so engulfed in this lifestyle that I just was fighting really hard like I was in and out of jail was in and out of rehabs you know off and on probation

back then I don't know if you remember Goodman Stein and Chavsnoff was the law firm that yeah Steve Stein was my attorney got you know and that was a gift to me like I just I had to pay for that yeah I had people around me that continue to enable me like you know and and I and I And I realize now it wasn't like, I think their intentions were okay, but really it was more about protecting their reputation. What did your parents say the first time you got arrested? Were they shocked? Because like they kind of maybe knew something going on or they, they, they, they, no, by then they knew something was definitely up and I think they were relieved. Okay, because they're like, this might be the catalyst that gets this fixed.

Yeah, like they had tried rehab. They paid for me to fly to California and go to rehab. like, you know, by this time, like, they knew there was a problem. I would never admit to any of it that they were doing all that they could to, you know, try to help me, which I don't fault them for, but it's, you know, one of the lessons that I learned and one of the things I'm able to pass on is this tough love concept. Well, that's what I was going to ask next is if you had to flip it where now you are the parent and your son did the same thing, what would you have done differently?

Oh, drastic consequences. I will always love my son, but I will not enable bad behavior. Yeah, you're just, you're on your own with that if you get caught. You know what I mean? Okay. So from the first time we get arrested in 2001, how many times you get arrested again until 2006 when you got clean? I mean, minor arrests a few, but my next felony charge was in 2005. I did a nine-month treatment stay.

Okay. I got out. I was clean for a little while, but I started drinking again. because I thought, like, meth was the problem. And when I started drinking again, drinking led me back to cocaine and meth. And I got caught again for possession with intent to sell just because I liked,

I always had cornerstack blues. I needed, like, a big quantity. So the quantity I had on me was enough to get me with, like, an attempted possession with attempt to sell. And so now that's two felonies like that. That's two felonies. and that's the that was the arrest that led me into the district court drug court program and they sent you to rehab for nine months no my rehab stay was a couple years before that okay

the district court drug court program is a year long outpatient program with like a prison sentence hanging over your head so like screw up you're going to prison yeah okay to be honest with you like my last two years out there on the streets I was tired yeah I was ready for something different like I knew deep down inside I was chasing the wrong things. I was just so engulfed in the lifestyle. I didn't know how to get out. And I was also 31 thinking, damn, my ship has sailed, you know. Did you see at that time, could you ever envision the other side of this at that time?

Never. Never. Like at the time, man, like the most I could hope for is, like getting clean and maybe getting a stable job because I didn't go to college. Yeah. I go to college. I barely graduated high school. I dropped out of high school at the beginning of the second semester. I finished my credits in adult ed. And because of my dad's position in the school district, they allowed me to walk with my class. But I mean, I barely graduated high

school, right? So I didn't go to college. I went right out of high school into the securities and insurance business. So I got my licenses. I was able to do that for a few years, you know, barely, you know, barely showing up. And this is when you were still doing, you were heavy drug used to in this. Yeah. So I was the guy that like, you know, I couldn't show up on Mondays and then I was calling off on Fridays and I was working at my dad's brokerage firm because when he retired, he got into the business. And he, he, I think had hoped, he got into the business I was hoping I would be able to take it over. You were the son and what is it?

Bad bosses or whatever it is or horrible bosses. Yes. You were the son in that thing. You know, like my dad just loved me to almost to death, you know. Which you can love your kids to death. It happens all the time. Yeah. So I'm like, I'm 31.

Like I lost, because of my convictions, I lost my ability to sell insurance or securities. I didn't know what direction I was going. going to go in life and kind of like borderline hopeless like what's the point type of situation I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to climb myself out of the hole I dug so what was the change what was the catalyst other than obviously the drug program you were in that was hanging prison over your head so I managed to complete that program after a little bit of a jail stint so I detoxed and I got clean in jail and

When I got out, I said, you know, I- That must have been miserable. They're not really worried about your comfort, I'm assuming. No. That was cold turkey, just shaking on the floor, I'm assuming. Cold turkey, it was not a great experience. And I'll be honest, like this rewind a few years. Like, I was burned really bad in a meth lab fire.

So I spent six weeks in the UMC burn unit. That wasn't enough to stop me. God. It was a time I was an IV drug user. So there was a time I went into septic shock. I was an ICU for almost a week, almost died. Like that wasn't enough to stop me. So there's like, not these like, keep going.

I don't know what that is. That's my phone. It's all right. Keep going. See, we keep it real here on the podcast. Keep it real. Shut up, Tom. That's all right.

I, um, there was several times where I like, I even almost lost my life and that It wasn't enough to wake me. And your parents saved you every time, didn't that? The hospitals did. Yeah. And, but, but the, the, the, the important point to make with that is, you know, substance use can really get its claws into you to where not, not even death is like enough to scare you into getting clean.

And I never would have imagined being grateful for those experiences, but they really help shape and define who I am today and how. I think today in my perspective today. Yeah, I know, like you watch the show intervention, which is why to this day, I don't care how about the surgery is. I won't take Oxycontin. I'm just like, no, I'm not taking pain medicine. I will suffer through whatever it is because, dude, that's how those stories always start

like that. It's like, oh, I hurt my back. And then next thing you know, you're completely strung out. I'm like, these are problems I don't mean my life. But you're always rooting for these people to get better. And it's always so heartbreaking at the end of that show when it says, no they relapsed and they're gone they didn't do this man so i just that that struggle is is something that so many people fight with but you know you coming out of the other side of it when did you

start to see the light obviously when you're like okay i might be able to pull up something together here so i get out of jail um i went through some very humbling experiences at that point my family did cut me off and i got out of jail and i really was out of options And so I had to rely on the community safety net for a little bit of support initially, which was, I don't want to say humiliating, but it was humbling. So I had to go down to the county and get a voucher and get rental assistance. So I could put a roof over my head. And I had to enroll in the food stamp program so I could buy some food.

But what had happened is I was in jail. and growing up, you know, knowing that they're, well, believing that there is a God, you know, whether, I don't know what that looks like. Right. And I don't push that on people and it doesn't matter. But I remember being in jail and saying a prayer, like, God, if you are real, you know, please, please help guide me when I get out of here because I can't continue to live the way I was living. And I remember, like, I got out of jail and I got a place to. to stay and I remember like my first day out of jail not using like going to bed thinking wow I was like a free man today and I didn't go to the plug well you know that I think that's

so interesting because I would think that like you said it was it was soul crushing a little bit and it was it was brought on on a lot of humility to you yeah to have to do those things I would think that those type of thoughts and those type of feelings are what would drive people right back to that same problem again so what they typically will yeah so what was it about you in that moment that when you're feeling probably pretty down on yourself because of the assistance that you were having to get and having to ask people for help yeah it was fun yeah so what was it about what was going on in your head that made you say hey this is I'm not doing it this time I think for the first in my time in my life like I made a commitment and kept it I made a commitment to my

myself and I kept it. I think, you know, people don't realize, it's so funny you say that, because people don't realize how important it is to make, to keep promises to yourself. Right. It's more important to keep promises to yourself and it is to keep them to anybody else. Because that's where self-confidence comes from. So every day when you kept keeping that promise, your self-confidence grows a little bit more. Hope gets a little bigger, I'm guessing.

So one day turned into a week, a week turned into a month. And I remember taking, you know, in the recovery program I was in. And I remember taking a 30-day chip thinking, dang, I didn't get loaded for 30 days in a row. And that had not happened since I was 13. 13. And then I, you know, so they encourage you to find a sponsor or a mentor in this program and somebody that can help guide you. And for the first time in my life, I was willing to start taking suggestions from somebody who had been through. somewhat similar circumstances and made it out.

And that's where it started for me. Who was that person? His name was Jerry Tiffy. Still talked over that? Off and on here and there. Occasionally, yeah, he was a singer on the strip. I was in treatment with his son. That's how I knew him.

And I asked him, hey, will you help me? He did. And he did. So when did your financial life start to turn around a little bit? When did your circumstances start to improve? So, let's see, I was 32. I got a job with the Bell family relatively quickly because I'm a fairly smart guy, and I'm a fairly driven guy.

And when I started channeling that energy into something positive, I started seeing good results. What was that interview like and how did you get him to take a chance on you with your record? So J.J. Bell, and I love J.J. Bell dearly. He was, you know, we all, Well, most of us have that one guy or a person in our life that was willing to take a chance on us. And that was J.J. Bell. What was the conversation like when you first sat down? In order to get a job there, you had to bring your scope in, which is like your criminal record printed on paper. And he looked at it.

And he was flipping the pages. Like, we don't hire felons here. Yeah. And I was only 90 days sober. and I looked at him and I said I know on paper I look like a dirt bag and I know I've made a lot of wrong choices in life but I said I know my words might mean nothing to you but if you just give me a chance I promise you

I will be the best employee you've ever had right out of jail I got a job at a convenience store across from the boulevard mall as a cashier making $7.25 an hour. That's, that was humbling. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I interview with J.J. Bell. I become a limousine driver at presidential limousine.

My first few months there, I saw some things if I owned the company that I would do differently. So I asked him for a meeting and he took me to lunch. And I shared some ideas with him. And he said, you know what? In all of the years I've been in this business, I've never had somebody come to me and just tell me the truth about what's going on out there on the streets, what they're observing in the office. And he asked me if I would be willing to come work with him in the office to turn the company around. And people in my life, including my mentor, thought I was crazy because

I was leaving a job where I was making pretty good cash tips to go in and, you know, work in the office, you know, and I, for some reason, I did it. What do you think it was? I held him in such high regard that I knew, because he was willing to give me an opportunity, that I held him in such high regard that I couldn't say no. I couldn't. Do you think that maybe the idea. of getting the job in the office and not being a drive not being a driver even though it was less

money was maybe you looked at it like a stepping stone to get your guilt you're going up a ladder now you're not just going sideways anymore it's it's the concept of like sometimes in life you have to take a step back to take steps forward a couple steps forward because i know like me in life right i've always been i'm very politically motivated so i'm always driven to like i want to climb but we i don't care what the ladder is i want to climb sure you know if we're going to if we're going to rush a fraternity I want to be the Pledge Class President. If we're going to do that, like I always want to be the guy out front. So it's, I've always been that way.

I don't know why. There's something that's broken and made it makes me do that. But I could totally see me doing the same thing. Like, okay, I'm going to take a pay cut, but I got a business card now and I'm moving up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And a salary. And a salary. I'm moving up.

So I think I brought some things to his attention. He didn't realize. And I didn't know it at the time, but he was the VP of Woodle C-Bell companies, which, you know, they have several cab companies. Yeah, massive transportation company. Massive transportation company. And I just, I didn't, I didn't know what I was doing, but I just, I, I took his advice and paid off.

And I worked side by side with him to clean up some things in the office. Sometimes you've got a clean house. There was a lot of rotten eggs that needed to be, you know, thrown out. And we worked side by side. And three months after that, he made me the general manager of the company. So here's a question. What was that transition like? Because there's a lot of times in life when you're one of the gang, if you will, like you

when you were a driver. And then a month later, you're the guy firing your buddies or the people that are perceived as your buddies. There was a lot of people that did not like the fact that all of a sudden this new kid was the boss. Yeah. So how do you, okay, so how do you talk about that process? That's where I learned not to give a shit about being liked.

Yeah, I always say that if you want to, what is it? If you want to be liked, sell ice cream. I love that quote. That's where I learned to not care if I was liked. You know what I mean? Yeah, there's a difference being liked and respected. There's a difference. I was respected, but I wasn't liked.

Yeah. And I wasn't liked because there was a lot of people there who had been there maybe for years that thought that they should be in that role. Yeah. None of them ever went to JJ and suggested any changes. None of them ever gave a shit about the company as a whole. It was all about at the end of the day, what was best for them. Yeah.

You know what I mean? And I didn't realize it at the time. I didn't know that that lunch with him was going to change my life. And as a result of that, him and I working side by side, eventually he stepped away and like gave me full rain to run the company. And, you know, to summarize things, I think when I started there, there was a fleet of like 30 cars, maybe 40 or 5 drivers, and they were spending a lot of money on print ads. And so together, I just brought some like fresh ideas, like, let's stop spending all this

online print ads and let's get online and so together it was like fun it was like and it was new and like I had this entrepreneurial driving me my whole life and I you know somebody had actually given me the ability to make decisions and you know relatively quickly and this was in 2007 so this was right before like the 2008 2009 crash crash and while some companies were going out of business we were buying cars and hiring you know so like two months into my journey at as the GM there not only had they put me on a profit sharing plan but we had grown the company to like I don't know maybe like 150 cars in the fleet a couple hundred drivers yeah and I just was hiring and firing and you were and you were profit sharing in this to me yeah to me it was a simple math equation so I'm guessing inside

inside of probably eight months you went from driver and tips to six figures as well I'm guessing very quickly for the first time in my life for the first time ever at what point did you because obviously now you're doing pretty well what point did you reconnect with your family I reconnected with my parents relatively quickly my mom was always my champion my mom never lost like her love for me it took my dad a while took my brothers a while what was that process like where you're dead my dad was just very kind of cold he didn't believe it Like, I mean, I had, I really put them through some, you know, I'll just give you like an example. Like the week, the week that I was charged with manufacturing was the dedication of a school that was named after him.

Yeah, that's not good. Yeah, that's not good. You know, so there's like an ad in the paper, you know, this big article about Murphiverson Elementary School, you know, brand opening. They named the library. And turn over two more pages and whoops. And, you know, literally the day after that article came out because I was in the hospital when I got burned, the police raided their house because that was the address on my license. Oh, God.

So, like, I was, like, constantly, like, putting them in these situations. Like, my dad had just had enough. And my brothers had had enough, too. So it took me a while to rebuild those relationships. But I wasn't really concerned about that either. I was, I was concerned about getting my life together. And once I got a little taste of what it was like to be sober and have a little bit of discretionary income, I wanted more.

And I, you know, so. Well, that's interesting, though. So you say you weren't concerned with those relationships, but just through working on you, those relationships came back. Well, I was, it was always in the back of my mind. Like I felt, I felt a lot of guilt and shame, but I knew like because of the people I was using as my mentors, they're like, I couldn't buy. into that. Like if I sat in that too long, you had to compartmentalize it and put it away.

If I sat in that too long and tried too hard to convince them through my words that like I was, I was really serious about making this life change. Like it was just going to backfire. So rather than do that, I just, you know, I knew I needed to just make a living amends and, you know, and let the results of the actions in my life start to show people that I was serious about this change. What you were doing? All right. So how long at the limousine place and then what was left?

You spent 10 years there? Spent a little over 12 years there. But my relationship with JJ Bell grew into an amazing friendship. To this day, we're still friends. They ended up selling their portfolio of companies. But because of the relationship I had with JJ, it opened up doors for me. Like, I would go to him with ideas, and he was very supportive.

So I opened the Freedom House in 2010, which is a 150-bed facility where we were providing housing. And eventually we became the provider of treatment services for the court that I got clean in. And I did that because JJ Bell gave, the company was doing really well. And JJ allowed me the freedom to kind of work on multiple projects at once. So you started this way you were still doing this where you were still doing limibus, okay? So how do you, okay,

so talk to me about opening 150 bed facility. That's scary. That's a lot. So where did you raise the capital? How did you pull this together? So interestingly enough, JJ had a friend that was a big real estate investor. His name was John Blinsky and John

is as much of an angel to me as JJ. And John had these buildings. over off of Twain and Paradise and I had this idea and we all sat down in a room and I said here's my idea let's take these two buildings on Paulos Verdes and turn them into a transitional living center for people just like like that are in the situation I was in a few years ago and I got their blessing you know proximity is power right yeah proximity is power like I can't I can take the credit for the idea and being the visionary, you know what I mean? But I didn't, I, I lifted Freedom House off the ground with very little capital.

Just converted it straight up like it was and there you go. Well, Balinski at the time, who also I would consider a very spiritual person, saw the transformation I had went through and just really, you know, believe that I could pull this off. even though, you know, Chris G at the time it was the county commissioner and the sheriff and everyone thought I was crazy. For doing what I did there, I convince them all that let it, like, let's make it happen. I mean, I had to do it through the special use permit process.

I had to convince a lot of people it was a good idea, like Metro. Well, and you've also got to go to the city and get their blessing because they're technically the ones they're going to fund it once these people start coming through, correct? I didn't know who was going to fund it. Well, who pays for the people to be, to be, to be, in these beds. They do. They individually, that's what that's they pay.

Yeah. So we charge a program fee. Oh, I got it. And here, the blessing in disguise with that was we put so many people there and like half of them could pay, half of them couldn't. My first two years, I lost over $300,000. And then luckily I had like at the time he was my landlord, but I had a landlord that was willing to work with me. So here's here, here's the case. catch. Yeah. That $300,000 loss is what caused me to develop a case for support and go to some local foundations and say, here's the people we're trying to help. Here's the amount that can't have no resources. We get some scholarships or something. This is what allowed me the proof

and we had collected enough data. You know, like, you know, I had data to just like taking one drug addicted criminal off the streets. What is the impact to the community safety net for that? And for it's tens of tens and tens of thousands of dollars a year. So that's what we, you know, we started collecting data and that's what helped me to get the support of some of the local foundations to create a scholarship fund. So we give away about 400,000 in scholarships a year now. Wow. For people that don't have any resources that need to get off the street and need help. Yeah, because that's what, I mean, that must have been an impossible situation for you in those first

couple of years because you have people that aren't paying, you're upside down, and all you see is your face and all of these people and you just don't have it in you to turn them out, even though the business model says you got to turn them out. That's right. You couldn't do it. The pro forma looked great. Yeah. If everybody pays, it looks amazing.

You know what I mean? Yeah, the pro forma looked great. And that's, you know, that's why I think we were able to get our start. and then like once I opened and got licensed because I went through the whole process I got I got county business licenses city business licenses we took these two old apartment you know garden style buildings and I went to a special use permit process I got them licensed through the department health care quality and compliance as licensed halfway houses like I did it right and that was scary like I had never done that you know the interesting thing about about this is and look you're

not a church nobody expects you to do this you're not a nonprofit freedom houses freedom house is a nonprofit is a nonprofit organization but it runs just like a business it runs just like a business so there's a bottom line you you're turning obviously a great profit on this which there's nothing wrong with that now yes now there's nothing wrong with saving lives and making money no absolutely otherwise hospitals wouldn't exist I don't feel bad about that at all no you should So you got Freedom House running, you got 150 beds there, and then what does that grow to? Where are you now? Freedom House is the same.

We did open a third location for women, so it grew a little bit. But it's just, it's a well-oiled machine now. And how many people are you saving a year? At the Freedom House, we serve probably close to 700 unique individuals a year. So you're talking about tens of thousands. let's just call it $10,000 worth of impact on the community by taking, like you said, a drug addicted felon off the street. So it was $700 a year, you're talking about $7 million worth of improvement to the community.

Because we now we're contracted with the county, what they refer to as a jail depopulation program. So like Freedom House is primarily dedicated towards taking people who are entangled in the criminal justice system and giving them a shot at housing and treatment in exchange for like a lesser sentence or something like that. So now that you have this, I mean, you got this obviously going incredibly profitable. Where is that opened up you to be entrepreneurial in other areas? So in 2015, I saw some other holes in the community safety net when it comes to this population. And I put together a plan for Crossroads of Southern Nevada, which is a 400-bed program now. It is a for-profit program and we, you know, are sustained through billing insurance for the services. Because in

between, in between opening Freedom House and starting to develop crossroads, Obamacare was rolled out. And it was a huge segment of the population that, you know, now had access to Medicaid coverage who didn't previously. Are the changes now going to affect you? No. No. No, I think the changes that they're talking about in Medicaid reform now have to do with people that are milking the system. Yeah. You know, people that should be working, could be working. You know, my heart has really been in working with the indigent, homeless population. So, you know, Crossroads, we have a 75-bed detox clinic, a full medical clinic, a very robust outpatient clinic. We have a housing center downtown where we house 160 people in our outpatient program. We have the second floor of our

main building, which is right across the street from UMC, we have an 80-bed residential treatment program. The idea for Crossroads was at the time when Medicaid started covering all these folks, people started to access the ERs who didn't really need medical care. They needed substance use and mental health services. And so I would be in these meetings where they were constantly talking about the ERs being overwhelmed and people sitting in the hallways on gurneys. And so I was like, well, let's create a place where the police and paramedics can take people who need straight, just mental health. Can I just shut that off?

Yeah, go ahead. Feel free. Do your thing. No, you're good. Busy men. Oh, embarrassing. Don't worry about it. Joe Rogan has people get up and go to the bathroom.

We're fine. So the idea was, hey, let's create a place where. Pull this closer, though. I might. There you go. Like, let's create a place where, because I have two. brothers that were firefighters you know and they would constantly talk about these um frequent flyers they refer to them as you know who go from the street you know they call the ambulance they

come up with these symptoms so they have to go to the emergency room and like so when you do the math the county's paying like on average you know six or seven hundred dollars a night for somebody to sit in an emergency room bed when they i'm sorry 1500 dollars a night. I was going to say last time I was the emergency room, it was not $600. I'm sorry. It was not $500. So it's $600 a night at Crossroads. Okay. Versus 500 a night, you know, in an emergency room. And that's if they're not complaining of chest pains or heart this or that, you know, and don't need an MRI, you know, you know, but the people on the streets are very crafty. They know exactly what they need to say, you know, to get off in their stay. And they're really just

there to get off of the street for a few days, get some food and them and med seek. And then they're back to their original thing. So that's what we did. We took this building. It's a 50,000 square foot facility. We got it licensed as a medical clinic, detox center, rehab clinic. And I got the blessing from the county, the county fire department and metro for it to become a drop off site where police

and first responders could draw people off that they knew needed mental. health and substance use services rather than eat the ER at UMC. So, I mean, obviously, dude, you become incredibly financially successful because of this. Do you think that if it wasn't so in line with a mission that you lived through yourself, you would have done the same in any other field? I don't think so. I think I had to go through what I went through to find my purpose, my passion. You know what I mean?

And it took me a while to, like, feel okay about making money off of helping the population. But, you know, I worked through that mentally because in the recovery program, it's all, you know, it's an altruistic movement, right? But not everyone can just go to a 12-step recovery group and get their life together. But I don't think it should be. I was, you know, because my next question was going to be, are you still actively involved, not necessarily day to day, but I think you're probably, the best example of if I can do this, you can do this. And seeing that financial success you have and hearing your story and knowing that you were hopeless and, you know, didn't know what you were going to do.

I mean, I think you're the, you're the, you're the, the benchmark of what people are trying to get to. So are you, how heavily involved are you in those meetings, in those people, in that motivation with people? Because it's got to be harder, there's 700 of them. You can't take on 700 mentees that you cannot do. No, no, but I do spend a good percentage of my time talking to people who've been willing to come in about the results and the outcome that they can have in their life. And I spend a lot of time and I have like a social media platform where I try to send this message to.

So obviously, yes, I don't spend a lot of individual time with people, but my example and then the, the ripple effect of the people that I've been able to help. A lot of my non-clinical and non-medical staff are people who have come through a program that's what I was going to ask. That's what I was going to ask. So I've created, you know, both free, you know, Crossroads is a is an eight-figure annual. Oh, yeah. It's a ginormous business.

Freedom House is a high seven figure, you know what I mean? Budget. So I'm managing a couple of companies. companies, you know, with relatively healthy budgets. Oh, sure. You know what I mean? And then I'm not like an operator, though. I'm a visionary.

I like to design and create and then like turn it over to people and let them run with their ideas. That's why I hear a CEO. It's, you know what I mean? It's my philosophies. So I'm the CEO, but like I have great people and all. Most of my executive teams are people who are just like me that have the life experience. Yeah.

So in between those two, we start a program called Shine Alight, which is an outreach program that we started at the Freedom House, you know, reaching out to the homeless, primarily the ones that are living in the tunnels underneath Vegas and offering them a way out. Oh, that's right. I forgot you do that. So I forgot about the tunnels. About five years ago, we broke it off and it became its own nonprofit. foundation and now it's the shine light foundation and it's also you know and now a seven-figure operation and you take people down there to show them what's going on we do and we've really got a lot of we've really got a lot of attention and support from the community community the local community you know a lot of the family foundations but we're also contracted with the city of las Vegas

north Las Vegas Clark County to do case management because it's the people from the streets who understand the problem better than anyone right yeah yeah for those because again we have people listen all over the country and all over the world i don't think you necessarily understand what he's talking about i'm going to explain it to you so here in las vegas obviously it's very hot 119 degrees sometimes and we have tunnels which are waterway systems they're they're wastewater systems like as it rains heavily here flood drains yeah because in the desert the ground is incredibly hard and it doesn't absorb water so the water just runs over the ground here and especially in areas like the strip, they have to route the water away from the buildings. You probably've seen

videos of outside, what is it? Harris. It always looks like a, it just turns to know a rapids behind Harris. The link, right? By the link. Always just looks crazy when it rains. People like, oh my God, the town's flooding. Not really. It's just the wastewater running in that one place. But those tunnels are occupied by estimate how many people? 2000. 2,000 people live under the city in these tunnels. It's really crazy. It's crazy. And when it rains like that, they just get washed away, right? Everything.

And I'm not talking about they're down there sitting around, you know, some sticks, making a fire. I mean, these people build pretty elaborate, like, things out of whatever they can find. It's like a shanty town, and they build these little houses down there. They do. And that just gets washed away every time it rains, yeah? Yeah. And I've seen some of them try to get creative and,

stack like pallets and try to like you know build things off of the ground none of it works but there's a huge population of people living under the tunnels and they're they're incredible people and i actually do still go down into the tunnels and i get to spend time talking to them and i listen to their stories and like you know that's where i would have been let me ask you because i'm always curious about this of the people that are living down there obviously there's some problems right there's some problems these folks there's a mental health issue there's a substance abuse issue and then there's a gambling issue i'm guessing yes so which one of the three is the largest contributor to the folks down there i would say substance use okay which leads people to mental

illness okay you know i would say like i you know i'm going to go against county's data the county says about 10% of our homeless population has a substance use issue and i'm going to say it's more like 90. Yeah. Because what else are you going to do? I mean, seriously, what do you do? But you can't be homeless and on drugs and not develop some form of diagnosable health.

Yeah. Mental health issue, right? So you have to treat them both and you have to treat them separately. How many people have you guys been able to manage to save out of the tunnels at this point? So last year, the Shine Alight Foundation got a little over 500 people

out of the tunnels. into programming, and we do an 18-month program. So I don't believe in a 30-day spin-dry treatment model. Yeah. You know what I mean? Takes a minute to fix this. You need a higher level of care. It's going to take a minute to get out.

You know what I mean? You need a higher level of care to begin with. So, you know, they go from detox into maybe like a lower level of care of treatment, but we case manage them. And this is what's drawn the attention from a lot of the municipalities is the way we case manage folks. and the way we take care of them so they don't slip through the cracks. There's a lot of components and providers in the safety net who provide one piece of the puzzle,

like outpatient counseling or, you know, they do, you know. But you're completely vertically integrated in the space. We do and we connect them not only with services we're able to provide, but with other community partners. So it's the continuity case management program that, Paul and Rob and the other folks that run the day-to-day operation of Shine a Light have come up with that make us a little bit different than most. And, you know, we believe in a harm reduction model, but also because of our own experiences, don't agree with enabling people. So, like, if you want help and you're serious about getting help, you're going to do this, this, this, and

this versus. Okay, that's a good question. How do you know? How do we know? Well, when you go to somebody and you're like, I mean, obviously you're in the tunnels, you're like, we want to help you. At what point do you know they really want help and they're just? Well, we explain what the process is and they either agree or they don't. Oh, they'll say I'm ready to go or I'm not. You know, and we develop a relationship. We have, we have a team of about 60 volunteers every Saturday morning that go into their tunnels and talk to people and, you know, we take them supplies. the bare minimum, you know, water bottles and some, we have a lot of people that make sandwiches and we take them the bare minimum, but that, those, the things that we're giving them, we're not,

we're not enabling them to continue to be homeless. No. We're building a relationship. Okay. Of trust. And a lot of, it takes about 12 interactions for them to begin to build trust. And then we start talking to them about the programs that we can help them get access to. And, you know we we can now have conversations and rebut things that are excuses that they have well I don't have ID I don't have my birth certificate on we can help you with all of it doesn't matter you know what I mean if you agree you know what I mean if somebody really wants help there's there there there is no excuse if they're there and you're there you can get them sorted out and it doesn't matter if they stay or not you know we don't I don't have the liberty to decide you know if

this person's really serious or not. If they say, hey, I want to get out of here and I want to get help, we take them. Well, I'm guessing because you guys are being used as a case study for the quality of care you're giving. Obviously, there's a fallout rate. Obviously, there's everything. Sure. I was going to say about, about, so almost 300 people that we got out last year are still engaged with us in case management. That's, that's, I'm guessing that's amazing compared to the industry standard with what you do. That is amazing. So there's a difference between an output and an outcome, Right? Okay. Like, I'll give you an example.

The homeless shelters. Their success is gauged on how many beds they have filled every night. And their funding relies on that, right? What motivation? What incentive do they have to help these people not be homeless? Because they need them to come in every night and be in their beds. They need people to be homeless to fill the beds to continue to get the funding that they're getting. They don't really have an incentive to help these people change their life.

There's some nonprofit treatment centers who may have a 30 or a 90-day treatment program, and they will tout 85, 90% success rates. And that success rate is an outcome of 30, 60, 90 days. You know what I mean? The amount of people, I'm sorry, output. That's an output. Yeah, what they get through the system. How many people came in and how many people completed?

Yeah. But the real work starts when they complete. So we're focused on our outcomes, not our outputs. Not how many people came in and completed treatment. How many people, 18 months later, we've really impacted their life. Are they permanently housed? Yeah. You know, are they employed, you know?

Are they on their way to being productive citizens at this point? Exactly. Dude. Man, if they want to find you, how do they find you? I'm on Instagram at Jeff Iverson. It's really easy. with our time? I think we are. We didn't even get into my solar business. Let's talk about solar. We can talk about solar. Go ahead. I'll make it longer. I don't care. Go ahead. Six years ago I got

into solar and no idea what I was doing and we did 150 million. Okay. That's not fair because I asked you if there's something you want to land on. You didn't say you want to lay on solar. We did. Well, well, anyone can go to my Instagram page and see like, we're going longer. Go ahead. Talk about time. But I'm pretty proud of the fact that I knew nothing about solar except one day a guy knocks on my door wants to talk to me about solar, I tell him to, you know, take a hike. And about the sixth guy that came by, I'd finally listen to the pitch. And this guy, because of my history and financial services, this guy showed me a comparison, a side by side, like, okay, if you stay Nevada energy versus buying a power plant

and putting on it on your roof, this is how much you would save over, you know, 20 years. And I was like, well, what? That caught my eye. And then question six, what? You know, Nevada energy has to get 60% or 50% of the energy it sells from renewable sources by 2030. And who's paying for them to build solar farms? We are. That caught my attention.

So everything I've done over the years has been purpose driven. And I left presidential limousine to get into the solar business. And I'm glad that I did. But anyway, I just want to end with, I took all of those years. of experience and joined forces with a couple people. And we did close to 150 million in business in our first three years in solar. Unbelievable.

And I'm still in the solar business. Which is getting harder because the credits are going away. It's getting harder, but it's just, you know, you have to be able to adapt to change. You know what I mean? And be willing to just be able to pivot when you need to, to be successful. And this is where the things I've learned over the years,

to, you know, with when it comes to mindset, you know, I can either sit in my shit and feel sorry for myself and, like, go against the grain or like, I can pivot and figure out a solution to the challenge in front of me, you know, those are the things that I learned. Dude, you know, number one, don't ever apologize for making money for doing something you'll have to help people. I think you should do it. But if you're listening to this and you're at a place where, man, you're at a crossroads. You don't know what you can do.

here's a dude that literally was in a halfway house, eating government cheese, working for $7.25 of the convenience store, the only job we could get. And not that much time has passed between then and now that you've owned a company that did $150 million in solar. You've got eight figure annual revenue from one of your places, high seven figure annual revenue for another one. That's amazing, dude. It's amazing what you've been able to accomplish.

I want to, I know, I know we're out of town, but I want to say, like, mindset is everything. and I was a convicted felon doing all of that. Well, one more thing, because one more thing before we go, because you're no longer a convicted felon. We didn't talk about that. I am no longer a convicted felon. How did that go down?

A couple years ago, a group got together and said, this guy deserves some recognition for what he's done. And over the years, I've developed close relationships with people who are now in the Supreme Court, who one of them is now our governor of them now is our attorney general and and i don't get political at all but all of these people have known me for years and seen the work i've done and i was presented with a full gubernatorial pardon restoring all my rights including the rights to bear arms last year and it wasn't something that i expected and i'm very grateful for that to me it's it's a way of the

community showing me that transformation is possible. And if you're listening to this, anyone's listening to this who might have been convicted of a crime or has any kind of a hurdle to overcome, it's your mindset that's going to keep you stuck or help you to make a move forward. And overcoming anything is possible. You know, I know that there's all kinds of challenges out there, right? Everyone's facing some kind of rock bottom in their life. It could be financial, emotional you know you could be substance use it could be depression and there's a solution to anything in life it's just you've got to get yourself in a in a mindset that okay i can i can believe that i can overcome this brother that is the message of my new book coming out november 11th pick

your copy up anywhere escaping the drift available anywhere books are sold sorry i could i plug myself to read your book brother i got to plug it well dude i love this i want to i don't want to go down in the tunnels at some point man i just i would love to take you i think i think that would would be such a how old do you have to be to go down there 12 that's it I want to take the kids down there I have it you know yeah I think I think people that take their kids down there I think seeing how I think you know one of the biggest fears you have in success is raising kids that are worthwhile you know what I mean my kids great don't get me wrong oh your kids one's 15 117 but at the same time you always want to keep them as grounded by showing

them as much of the world as you can. We've designed a special tour for shine a light that a lot of the politicians, company executives that are interested in, you know, donating. You know, we've had, you know, people from the Raiders, like all kinds of people that come down there. And we've designed a very special, safe experience for people that would like to go down and just get a glimpse of what it's like. Yeah.

You know. Cool. I'm in, man. My buddy, Fletcher Jones, has taken his son down. Yeah. A lot of people have taken their kids down. My kids are 15 and 13. Yeah.

About to take them down. But it's, it's an eye-opening experience, and you emerge from that with a lot of gratitude. How could you not? Yeah. How could you not? It's crazy to see the bottom that some people reach and are willing to accept. So I'd love to have you down there. Thank you so much for sharing your story, dude.

It was inspirational. And despite your, despite your Rocky. start the world is a better place because you're in it thank you that's my goal that's it that's it guys if you listen to this today i don't care where you are in your life or what adversity you perceive to be facing you there is always a next level don't let anybody tell you that systematically you can't escape where you are the the deck is stacked against you don't listen to that you can't bootstrap yourself up from wherever you are that's right and today proved it we'll see next time hey it's john gafford from the escaping the drift podcast

And big news, my new book, escaping the drift is coming out. November the 11th, you can pre-order it right now at thejohngaffer.com. There are tons of bonuses, tons of giveaways. Get the book. If you are somebody that feels like you might be drifting along, this is for you. If you know somebody that feels like they might be drifting along, this is for you. Available everywhere, all bookstores, everywhere, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, the whole nine yards. But pick your copy up right now at thejohngaffer.com and get a book.

bunch of the awesome bonuses I've thrown out because I promise you I put my heart and soul into this thing I want it to help you change your life pick it up everywhere what's up everybody thanks for joining us for another episode of escaping the drift hope you got a bunch out of it or at least as much as I did out of it anyway if you want to learn more about the show you can always go over to escaping the drift.com you can join our mailing list but do me a favor if you wouldn't mind throw up that five star review give us a share do some something man we're here for you hopefully you'll be here for us but anyway in the meantime we will see you at the next episode