Steve Ward spent 38 years working in engineering, sales and marketing for IBM. For much of that time, Ward said he was a functioning alcoholic.
Three of the four members in his family struggled with some form of addiction. His wife struggled with alcohol as well, as did one of his sons during high school. For a while, all three of them were in recovery. His other son never struggled with addiction.
Ward spoke about his family’s struggles and his nonprofit, STEPS Ministries, during Tuesday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Jasper.
“One of the world’s worst problems –addiction – is treatable and even preventable. If people will go through the recovery and surrender to the process, they will get better. In recovery, they learn a lifestyle to live life better,” Ward said.
STEPS has received grant funding from the Walker Area Community Foundation to provide free help to families in Walker County.
A handout provided by Ward to Rotary members said 1-in-7 Americans experience addiction. It said 75 percent of high school students try addictive substances and 40 percent of the same age students abuse substances. The handout said 90 percent of people who struggle with addiction start before the age of 18.
Ward became fascinated with the concept of taking the principles of recovery taking them to the rest of the world. He searched for books, and when he couldn’t find any, he decided to write one of his own: “STEPS: A Daily Journey to a Better Life.”
Several years ago, Ward retired from his job at IBM and founded his nonprofit ministry. The ministry is focused on preventing addiction. By taking principles from the world of recovery, Ward teaches them to people early in the addiction cycle.
STEPS Ministries does that with in-person training as well as online content and courses.
Proactive parenting is a main focus of the ministry which aims to improve families by equipping parents to become the best they can be and enable them to help protect their children and teenagers from the dangers of addiction. Paces for Parents is an online toolkit used by the ministry that offers simple, practical steps to help children thrive and stay safe during their teenage years.
The ministry also works with business professionals who may struggle with more unique addiction issues.
“There are many forms of addiction. As well as alcohol, I also struggled with perfectionism and control addictions,” Ward said. “We help by delivering content, training and coaching to improve people’s lives emotionally, personally and spiritually.”
The STEPS Ministries website features a blog, podcast and a wealth of other resources including a parenting assessment.
“We really have the potential to reach people digitally and make content available in various forms, since people consume content differently,” he said.
For more information about STEPS Ministries, visit lifeimprovementsteps.com/home.
