Santiago Bayley remembers a time when he wasn’t sure if he would make it to adulthood — a time when he wasn’t sure if he wanted to live that long.
Now 19 years old, Bayley is one of hundreds of metro Denver teenagers who benefit every year from Denver Health’s Substance Abuse Treatment, Education and Prevention program, known as STEP.
STEP therapists and psychiatrists work with young people at the uniquely challenging intersection of mental health and substance use struggles, medical director Mario Lintz said.
Teens often come to STEP through school referrals or their parents seeking help, or because they were seen in the emergency room or referred through a diversion program for juveniles in the court system.
Like many program graduates, Bayley found it during one of the lowest points of his life. He attempted suicide by overdose when he was a sophomore in high school and was treated at Denver Health, where he connected with a doctor who told him about STEP.
The swirl of developmental changes that happen in adolescence already makes it a prime time for teens to develop anxiety and negative thinking, Lintz said. Those changes, added to teens’ inclination to take risks while they’re trying to figure out who they are, can be a volatile combination.
“With kids who have a traumatic past, substance use becomes something they use regularly to deal with those things,” Lintz said.
And it might make them feel better at first, until they start experiencing withdrawal symptoms and worsening side effects, and are now struggling with a substance use disorder along with an untreated mental health disorder.
To make it even more challenging, it’s hard to find a provider who will treat both, whether in Colorado or across the country, Lintz added.
“As much overlap as there is between substance use and mental health disorders, they’re often viewed separately, and there’s not a lot of providers who feel comfortable treating both. It can make the picture unclear, from a mental health standpoint, of what’s going on,” he said.
STEP fills that need with ongoing therapy, medication management and an intensive, eight-week outpatient program for teens and their families.
The program also goes the extra mile to remove barriers that often prevent people from accessing care.
STEP isn’t just in one location — providers meet with their patients at the Bannock Street offices as well as at 11 Denver-area high schools. The program pays for transportation for about 40 young people to get to appointments every week. And there are always plenty of snacks and beverages on hand for those who need them.
Five years after he first started STEP, Bayley is now working toward an associate’s degree in business with the goal of completing a bachelor’s in marketing and becoming a marketing or brand director. He plans to move to New York City this summer to further his career goals.
It’s a dramatic difference from where he was, Bayley said — from wanting to give up to loving himself and feeling comfortable in his skin.
“I was a 13-year-old who smoked weed all day and thought college was stupid,” Bayley said. “Now I’m going to college. I care more about my life. Before I was fine dying before 18, and now I’m 19 and I want to live.”
Denver Health STEP program
Address: 660 Bannock St., Denver, CO 80204
In operation since: 2003
Number of employees: 10
Number of volunteers: 0
Annual budget: $1,178,147
Number of clients served: 5,310 total visits in 2024
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