Dozens of Utah repeat criminal offenders, many of whom struggle with substance abuse and have experienced homelessness, have been able to turn their lives around, thanks to The Other Side Academy. The Academy, a therapeutic community in Salt Lake City, recently opened its fourth business venture, giving its students another opportunity to learn to work and to learn a new way to live.

TOSA is closing the revolving door of incarceration for many Utah residents, not only saving the taxpayers a lot of money, but greatly lowering the rate of recidivism. Some estimates show that within three years of release, two out of three former prisoners are arrested, and more than 50% are incarcerated again. However, those numbers are different for former inmates who go through the TOSA program.

Currently, 25% of the students at the Academy are from Utah County. Forty-five other Utah County residents have already graduated from the program, after staying at least two and one-half years. TOSA students enter the program with an average of seven felony arrests and eight misdemeanor arrests or criminal case filings. Additionally, 97% struggle with addictions to controlled substances. After completing the program, 78% of the graduates have not had further encounters with the criminal justice system.

The Academy, which has been open since 2015, is currently housing over 100 students in Utah and has a second campus in Denver, Colorado. The nonprofit program is free of charge to its students. Rather than serve more jail or prison time, these students — who have a desire to make real changes — are given the opportunity to reside and work at the Academy.

They learn vocational skills and life skills within the various businesses or schools, including The Other Side Movers, The Other Side Thrift Boutique, The Other Side Builders and, as of this month, The Other Side Storage, located at 5380 S. Riley Lane, Murray. The revenue garnered from the businesses are used to fund TOSA, making the Academy fully self-sufficient.

At TOSA, students learn to live in a family setting, get educated and learn to work. When they are not working at the businesses, students are doing volunteer work in the community and taking care of the home where they live.

At the newest venture, The Other Side Storage, students will learn warehouse and inventory management, become certified forklift drivers, experience marketing, sales, bookkeeping and customer service. Additionally, they will be learning skills that will enable them to keep a long-term job in the future.

Utah resident Matthew Sims is a graduate of TOSA and is the manager of The Other Side Storage. Sims began using drugs at the age of 13 and was arrested multiple times before going to TOSA. A judge provided him with this opportunity in lieu of sentencing.

“During my stay, I learned how to carry myself honestly. I learned how to work hard at anything I did, and I learned how to hold myself accountable if I made a mistake. While practicing and trying to master these new behaviors, I worked my way up into leadership roles,” Sims said.

As Utah residents support The Other Side businesses, they are actually helping to save the taxpayers’ money. According to Tim Stay, TOSA CEO, the average student has six years of incarceration suspended. If we assume the cost to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate an individual to be $50,000 per year, that means that each student that comes to The Other Side Academy saves taxpayers around $300,000. Since The Other Side Academy doesn’t take operational funding from the government, but is self-funded by the work of the students, not only do taxpayers save the incarceration costs, but they are not paying for the recovery and treatment of the students.

For more information, visit TheOtherSideAcademy.com. To find out more about the newest business, visit The Other Side Storage on Facebook.

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