Over the past few years, Ezekiel 37 Ministries has worked to help roughly 20 local women escape the clutches of addiction. Now, the faith-based nonprofit is expanding its sober living program to serve area men as well.

“It’s been on our hearts to do it for a while,” said Ezekiel 37 Ministries Executive Director Candace Anderson, but the organization didn’t have the space.

Then, “as we were praying about it, the Lord just opened this door,” Anderson recalled.

While “doors” can be figurative, this one was literal: A generous family stepped forward to donate an entire house.

Ezekiel 37 Ministries can now host as many as four women and their children at the new property in Cody, plus five men at a nearby residence that the organization has been using since last summer. Three women and two men are currently in the sober living program, which runs a minimum of six months.

Participants must have a sponsor, attend church and numerous meetings, participate in Biblically-based relapse prevention and receive aftercare, such as intensive outpatient counseling, Anderson said.

The men’s program will also offer a bigger focus on helping them provide for their family; for example, the two current participants have been connected with local business owners, who are teaching the men a trade.

Anderson said the overall aim is to break generational curses and help the men be successful in their recovery, good dads and great members of society. Making those changes in the direction of a man’s life can shift the dynamics of an entire family, Anderson said.

She and her husband, Donny, started the ministry in their own home, before expanding into a residence in the eastern part of Cody last year. That residence is now becoming the men’s home, with the women’s side of the ministry moving to the new property.

“The payoff really is breathing life into people who have no hope, and … walking alongside of them, to teach them that there is absolute hope and recovery,” Anderson said. “You can do it. You can get your kids back. You can work a full time job, you can go back to school, you can get your driver’s license back, you can do all these things successfully.”

Some participants come to the ministry straight from jail, some are out on bond and others arrive after finishing treatment programs. To date, about 80% of the women who’ve been through Ezekiel 37 Ministries’ sober living home have successfully maintained their sobriety, she said.

At a hearing last month, Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson spoke highly of Ezekiel 37 Ministries, saying they’ve “always done a tremendous job with this court.”

“I appreciate so much their volunteer work,” Simpson said. “They don’t ask for compensation, they don’t charge a fee, and they have changed lives in a very positive way for many people. And they do that because they care.”

The operation is funded by donations. The Cody-based nonprofit hosted its first-ever banquet a year ago and raised about $20,000. This year, leaders are putting on a concert featuring the Christian band Unspoken. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9 at Cody’s Wynona Thompson Auditorium.

Since their 2012 debut, Unspoken has had over a dozen singles crack the U.S. Christian charts. Ezekiel 37 Ministries was able to book the band thanks to a connection between a Cody pastor and a Billings production company — and the fact the group was already set to perform in Riverton.

“I think it’s going to be amazing,” Anderson said.

Unspoke is a fitting headliner for Ezekiel 37 Ministries’ sober living program, as frontman Chad Mattson became mired in addiction as a young man. Mattson credits his faith for his recovery, telling the Christian radio network K-LOVE last year that, “Nobody is too far gone.”

Fellow Christian performers Cade Thompson and JJ Weeks are set to open the Oct. 9 concert in Cody. Tickets are $25 for general admission or $50 for VIP passes that include a 5:15 p.m. meet and greet with Unspoken.

For more information, visit tinyurl.com/Ezekiel37Ministries.