The Other Side Academy’s model is the most effective program I have seen in 20 years as a prosecutor. The Other Side Academy is incredibly cost effective: It uses no tax dollars and its participants earn their own keep by working in businesses that teach them valuable job skills. The Other Side Academy gives hope and opportunity to people whose only path without The Other Side Academy is jail and prison.

– Jeff Buhman, Utah County District Attorney

The Other Side Academy is such a needed addition to our community. It provides critical life-changing opportunity for those who have struggled for years with the endless cycle of addiction, incarceration and even homelessness. This model provides on-the-job training through training school businesses while creating the necessary funding to keep the organization in operation without the need of funding from city, state or federal government. Participants spend thirty months learning the necessary skills and habits to lead productive, addiction-free lives and become responsible, contributing citizens in their communities.

It is a unique and creative model that serves a tremendous need in our community and is a shining example of the scattered-site approach to supportive services that our community is working towards. Small, neighborhood-integrated facilities are an asset to their community and neighbors. The Other Side Academy is a shining example of what a facility should be.

I have met and worked with the creators and directors of The Other Side Academy and I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with their program, its students, and all who are affiliated with it. We would do well as a community to support and replicate this model to the best of our ability. It is a boon to our community and a blessing to those it serves because it works!

– Camille Winnie, Director of Community Services, Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance

We are fortunate that The Other Side Academy has selected our state and specifically Salt Lake City to establish a time tested and nationally recognized program. This program provides training to individuals striving to improve their lives by changing their life choices, developing job skills, and becoming positive contributors to their community. The students at The Other Side Academy demonstrate a profound sense of appreciation for having been given this new life opportunity. In a very strict but nurturing environment they develop the life skills necessary to change lifelong patterns of making poor choices that have been detrimental and costly to themselves and their community. Recidivism for prisoners, drug addicts, and homeless is the likely outcome for those trapped in these behavior patterns. The Other Side Academy fills a critical missing gap as a solution to the challenges of these troubled populations.

– Zeke and Angela Dumke III

The Other Side Academy is housed in the Armstrong Mansion at 1st South and 7th East in Salt Lake City. The choice of location is a tribute to the Armstrong family legacy which in its day offered support to neighbors and the community. This program is patterned after Delancey Street in San Francisco, where prisoners are released to the program to learn a trade, are mentored and coached to be productive citizens in society. This is a “working” training school – not a rehab or sober living program. It is highly structured and students achieve personal and social accountability – it will be a jewel in the community.

– Scott Anderson, President, CEO- Zion’s Bank

I have seen firsthand how programs like The Other Side Academy beautify and uplift any community they join. Not only does this program save taxpayer’s dollars it literally saves lives and produces great citizens with a direct impact on some of our most challenging and difficult populations. I have seen the power and effectiveness of this model. I look forward to a future campus in Provo.

– Mayor John Curtis, Provo

The rehabilitative community model used by The Other Side Academy is unlike any other treatment facility and bridges a gap that no other model has successfully spanned. I have sent residents to The Other Side Academy and have seen the changes wrought in them the short time they have been there. The Other Side Academy’s focus on work, accountability, and commitment to the community is Utah’s best chance to reduce recidivism. It takes people who have been institutionalized most of their lives and turns them into productive, honest, and contributing members of the community.

– Christine Scott, Deputy Utah County Attorney

I chose The Other Side Academy as the nonprofit I presented to 100 Women Who Care SLC for their consideration at their quarterly donation meeting in December. The group voted a resounding “yes” to present $15,000 to the Academy to help launch one of its training school businesses, a moving company called “Other Side Movers” with the byline “We move lives.”

Already our neighborhood has benefitted from the positive spirit and presence of The Other Side Academy. The resident students were already giving service to clear the snow from the sidewalks and driveways of local churches and homes of those in need. The Other Side Academy went a step further and donated the services of its new moving company enterprise to help a local family undertake its move, who were thrilled and filled with gratitude at the unexpected help and the professional move. Surely The Other Side Academy is a remarkable addition to our neighborhood.

– Lisa Cannon, Entertainment Attorney – Cannon Consultancy

Communities across the country would be well served to have an Other Side Academy within reach. Everyone wins. The Other Side Academy is a miracle – a self-reliant community that saves the state millions, costs nothing and saves lives. The Other Side Academy fills a critical missing gap as a solution to one of the most challenging and difficult populations in terms of addiction, crime, and homelessness.

– Andrew Shimberg, CEO VitalSmarts

The Other Side Academy is what we need in this community. They provide a solution in helping those individuals who are struggling with addiction, crime, and homelessness. The Other Side Academy contributes to the community by giving those individuals an opportunity to make a better life for themselves through dedication and hard work. The neighborhood will benefit greatly by having such a highly accountable and disciplined organization among them. With my extensive involvement with the homeless situation it is evident that we need an organization like The Other Side Academy in our community.

– Scott N. Howell, Pioneer Park Coalition

The Other Side Academy is a partner that is so devoted to the success and the empowerment of its current students, many of whom are standing with us today. They have a proven track record that we know here in Salt Lake City of successfully managing a peer-based community while being a positive neighbor to the community they live and work in as well as the rest of Salt Lake City. And I know that their devotion and their passion for success will translate into The Other Side Village work we are doing together.

– Erin Mendenhall, Mayor

I’ve seen The Other Side Academy change lives for the better and lift the communities where they serve. That’s why I’m confident they can rise to any circumstances where our community asks them to lead.

– Ben McAdams, Former Rep

TOSA changes lives in a real and permanent way; making responsible, accountable, productive citizens out of people who for various reasons have been on the wrong side of these categories. I also admire and respect the way it’s done…..no government help needed!

- Jeff Goettsche

I have known Joseph Grenny for many years. I know that he is a man of integrity. I have used the services of The Other Side Academy and can vouch for the fine work that they do. Not only in the services they provide but in the work they do saving lives! Big fan of TOSA!

- Kyle Moosmann

What an amazing way to give back to our community and to our brothers and sisters in need! I know the leadership behind this movement truly practices what they preach by setting an amazing example of giving back and working hard to make this world a better place.

- Bell Perez

The Other Side Academy has had a massive impact in not only the culture and lives of those in their community but also personally on the people that have been able to turn around their lives within the academy. The success in this program has been nothing short of phenomenal and amazing. The Other Side Village is an incredible idea that I have no doubt will offer an immense amount of success and will help transform an incredibly difficult issue and turn it into an example of success for the entire country.

- Josh Ellis

The Other Side Academy has proven to be an organization that changes lives! I have seen light in the faces of those working at the Other Side Thrift Boutique after dark places in their lives. I have seen the the students driving down the freeway in the Other Side Academy moving trucks wave to me with a smile. This organization makes a life-changing difference! I’m looking forward to see what they can do applying their philosophy and curriculum with our homeless brothers and sisters.

- Bryan A.

As someone who has spent time at The Other Side Academy and personally gotten to know participants and leadership, I can undoubtedly say that this program is life-changing and a necessary part of Utah's strategy to solve homelessness and drug-related abuse. This is not your ordinary 'halfway house' program. Myself, and countless others, have been amazed by the transformation in individual lives and communities that this program has made.

- Kelly Andrews

I have worked alongside Joseph Grenny for the past 15 years. I have seen the principles he has written about in his award-winning books and training courses change lives. But almost every case study pales in comparison to the impact and transformation these skills are making in the lives of the students at The Other Side Academy. I have had the privilege to volunteer at TOSA a few times and love interacting with students who are doing the hard work to change their lives and make our community stronger. I have no doubt Joseph and team will continue this work in ways that will make a lasting impact in Utah with The Other Side Village.

- Brittney Maxfield

I fully support TOSA and the great work they are doing to transform literally thousands of lives!

- Rob Shallenberger

TOSA is an incredible program that I have been fortunate enough to witness and participate in as a speaker. The change they are creating in people’s lives is astonishing and undeniable. That they are now interested in helping Utah’s homeless population with the same amazing program is nothing short of extraordinary. This is a huge gift to all the people of Utah and should be taken advantage of immediately. Those fighting against it are either uninformed as to the efficacy of this program or have some other self-interest at heart. Those, like me, who are aware of what TOSA is actually accomplishing can only guess at the wonders this will do, and the dignity and self-respect this will restore, to such a vulnerable population. We must stand behind TOSA and its leaders in order to help create real, lasting change that will benefit generations and stand as a model for all others to follow. I endorse The Other Side Village wholeheartedly and encourage anyone fighting against this idea to take the time to find out what TOSA really does before moving forward. If you don’t think it’s an incredible idea, you must not really understand what it does.

- Jennifer Guiver

I have first hand experience working with the amazing people behind The Other Side Academy for 15+ years and have seen how they have continued to effectively and compassionately break the barriers of huge social challenges with innovative and practical approaches across many cities and countries. The Other Side Village is another example of their willingness to take promising successful first generation examples, develop them with partnerships into a more complete implementation, and then to work with others to replicate what works in many additional communities. I am personally committing funding to this initiative and encourage you to help in any way you can.

- Dave Richards

I wholeheartedly endorse these efforts! Having a long-term background in the principles that The Other Side Academy follow, I have no doubt those same concepts and principles will work to help the homeless population. Working with, and allowing human beings, to build their homes, will give them hope and pride that will lift them up...hope is very powerful! Give them the opportunity to show you what can happen.

- Charlotte Harper

I support TOSA and everything it stands for including this housing project. TOSA saved my brother's life. It's truly a gift to our communities.

- Matt Libutti

I am adding my endorsement to The Other Side Academy, and their efforts to support the homeless population in our state, because of their proven track record in creating a successful peer-based culture. Please trust and support them in this incredibly important initiative.

- J. Lynn Jones, Milken Education Award Recipient and Former National Distinguished Principal

I fully support TOSA and the great work they are doing to transform literally thousands of lives!

- Charlotte Harper