St. Paul man creates digital platform to help those struggling with addiction

MINNEAPOLIS -- A St. Paul native who is three years in recovery is now helping thousands of others struggling with addiction.

After experiencing the challenges of navigating through treatment -- Daniel Larson created a digital platform for recovery services. It connects clients, service providers and recovery organizations in one place.

"I started experimenting with drinking when I was nine-years-old," explained April Chouinard, a former addict who now works as a peer recovery specialist.

Battling addiction through her adult life, Chouinard married a struggling addict.

"I married someone who was addicted to meth, he was an IV user. He was in treatment. We had known each other for years and years and everything was going to be perfect," said Chouinard.

After losing custody of her kids due to one of his arrests, Chouinard injected meth for the first time.

"Within six months I was homeless living in a minivan and hopping around. I stayed in trap houses," said Chouniard.

Eventually, drug court set Chouniard on a path to recovery. A recovery she credits in part to Kyros, a recovery management platform that allows users to find help with programs, transportation, meetings, and other resources.

"We know Minnesota does a really good job at treatment, they do not such a good job at recovery, what happens the year after," said Larson, Founder & CEO of Kyros.

Larson is three years into alcohol recovery. He used his background in tech and labor solutions to start Kyros. A key component of the company is providing peer recovery specialists to those in recovery and an opportunity to get back on their feet through a free job training program to then become a PRS themselves.

"We give them access to livable wage starting at $18.50 an hour and can make all the way up to $26.50 an hour. They work as little or as much as they want with the people that they identify with that makes it feel like they can help," said Larson.

It's why Rolando Ruiz decided to become one of the first certified peer recovery specialists for Kyros.

"Offering hope and empowering people that have been through the things I have," explained Rolando Ruiz, a former addict who now works as a peer recovery specialist.

Ruiz has been through a lot.

"When I was born my mom was incarcerated in the Shakopee women's prison. So, from like day one, I was on my own in a sense," said Ruiz.

Growing up in the Twin Cities, his family was involved in drugs, violence and crime. He used drugs to cope, and at times to fit in somewhere.

"I've spent seven and a half years incarcerated between prisons, jails and different treatment centers. I overdosed five or six times," said Ruiz.

Ruiz credits a long-term program at Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge for getting him on the road to recovery in 2018. While working on himself, he's able to work on others with similar experiences.

"You would see people come in and they didn't have a lot of job experience. They had felonies, they're new in recovery and they think like life...this is it for me," said Ruiz.

"We can try to turn that pain that you went through into leadership and lessons," said Ruiz.

Like Ruiz, Chouinard now works as a PRS with Kyros. She offers this advice as someone who has been on both sides of substance use addiction.

"If you love somebody who is struggling with addiction, provide a safe space but have healthy boundaries and put trust in them as much as you can," said Ruiz.

Kyros has partnerships with 100 organizations across Minnesota and has served over 1,800 clients.

After launching 18 months ago, Kyros is now the largest employer of certified peer recovery specialists in the state.