Discovery Café, a peer-support nonprofit based in Garfield County, recently received a significant boost with a $90,000 grant from the Daniels Fund this September. The funding will be used to support both day-to-day operations and the two sober living homes in Rifle.
Discovery Café Founder Gabe Cohen expressed gratitude for the ongoing support from the Daniels Fund, emphasizing how critical this funding is for expanding their reach and helping more people.
“We’re incredibly grateful for this support,” Cohen said. “This grant will allow us to keep operating and continue providing essential recovery services. We’re opening our second sober living home in Rifle and hiring a new recovery peer coach to help with bilingual services, which is a real need in our community.”
Discovery Café first opened its doors in February 2021, starting at the CMC Rifle campus before moving to its current location on the second floor of the Rifle Branch Library. The organization recently expanded to the First United Methodist Church in Glenwood Springs, holding sessions from Monday-Friday. The two locations serve as a lifeline for people struggling with addiction, homelessness, and other crises, offering recovery support, meals, and a safe space.
“The only requirements we have are 24-hour sobriety and attendance at one peer recovery group per week, that’s our accountability piece,” Cohen said. “We see ourselves as a reservoir of recovery resources, and not just for addiction.”
Cohen noted that this new funding from the Daniels Fund is not just a one-time boost but part of a growing relationship. The Denver-based Daniels Fund has supported Discovery Café for the past two years. In 2021, the organization received $45,000 to support its initial operations. Since then, the fund has also granted the Discovery Café two separate $90,000 grants. Now, with more than triple the amount originally awarded, Cohen and his team are confident that they can expand their services even further.
“We’re very excited about opening our second sober living home in Rifle,” Cohen said. “The beds are ready, and we expect to begin housing residents by the end of October.”
The sober living homes offer a structured environment for those in recovery, providing them with stability and support during their transition back into society. Cohen emphasized the importance of offering such spaces, especially in rural areas like Rifle, where resources for recovery can be limited.
One of the program’s success stories includes Kenny Andon, a former inmate at the Delta Correctional Facility who now works full-time for Discovery Café. After serving a total of 17 years in the department of corrections, Andon was able to transition directly from prison into one of the organization’s sober living homes.
“Kenny was one of our peer recovery coaches while he was still incarcerated,” Cohen said. “He did incredible work inside the prison, helping people who were struggling with addiction. When he was paroled, we were able to bring him into one of our sober living homes, and get him a job with us.”
For Andon, Discovery Café was more than just a job opportunity; it was a chance to completely rebuild his life.
“Facilitating the groups and being a part of something that was positive in prison, and seeing the people come in and rough around the edges and hardened from prison, be willing to come and show their emotions and talk about their life, helped grow me as a person,” Andon said.
Andon now works as a peer support specialist at Discovery Café, providing guidance and encouragement to others going through the recovery process. His story highlights the impact of the organization’s approach, which is based on a model that combines peer support with practical resources.
“My confidence just keeps building as a person, and I know that I can do things differently,” Andon said. “Now I’m able to give back and it helps build me up, and I can help other people and tell them what I went through.”
Discovery Café’s unique recovery model has earned it recognition across the state. In addition to its community spaces in Glenwood Springs and Rifle, the organization operates inside three correctional facilities: the Rifle Correctional Center, the Delta Correctional Center, and Youthful Offender Services in Pueblo. Cohen explained that the organization’s peer recovery coaches are not only trained to help others, but they are also certified and employed while still incarcerated.
“We’re the only peer recovery program in Colorado that employs inmates as recovery coaches,” Cohen said. “We train them, certify them, and give them the tools they need to help others. And when they get out, they have a path forward.”
The Daniels Fund has been instrumental in helping Discovery Café expand these services. According to Owen McAleer, Senior Grant Program Manager at the Daniels Fund, the decision to continue supporting Discovery Café was an easy one.
“The number of people who are suffering from addiction is just going through the roof,” McAleer said. “Gabe is working with people, mostly coming out of the justice system, that also have some kind of drug or alcohol use disorder, and so he’s identified a niche that he’s got lived experience in. He is providing services that are helping people get their lives turned around and back on stable ground.”
McAleer praised Cohen’s leadership and the holistic nature of Discovery Café’s recovery model, which focuses on housing, employment, and peer support as the cornerstones of recovery. He also highlighted Cohen’s personal connection to the issues of addiction and incarceration as a key factor in the organization’s success.
“Gabe has both the passion and the skills to make a real impact,” McAleer said. “His experience with addiction and incarceration gives him a unique perspective, but it’s his ability to organize and run an effective program that stands out.”
As Discovery Café continues to grow, Cohen remains focused on the future. The organization’s sober living homes, peer recovery programs, and community spaces are just the beginning. Cohen hopes to continue expanding into more correctional facilities and offer more resources for people in recovery.
“We’re here to help, whether it’s connecting someone with a therapist or helping them get a job,” Cohen said. “The community support we’ve received is great, and this grant from the Daniels Fund is going to help us do even more.”
For now, Cohen and his team are preparing to open their second sober living home and continue providing their services to those in need. As Cohen sees it, every person who walks through Discovery Café’s doors is a potential success story, and with continued support from the community and organizations like the Daniels Fund, more lives can be saved.
“People in our community are struggling every day with addiction, homelessness, and other challenges,” Cohen said. “To have the financial support to put our best foot forward, to let people know that change is possible and that there is support, that there’s love and a place they can come in this community to better themselves and their families is important.”
For more information, visit discoverycafe.org.
