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The residents of the 19th century Victorian at 1545 Dwight Way would be the first to admit how spacious and attractive their front porch is, but they tend not to sit out on it too much. 

They know what they like about it: the pleasant breeze, the late afternoon and its fade to the colors of twilight. But they want to keep the neighbors at ease and avoid any mistaken ideas. 

“The stigma’s still there,” Tim Falke said. “It would be, ‘Well, they’re just a bunch of drug addicts hanging out on the porch.’ 

“Until I became one, I was saying the same thing. And at the same time I was saying that, I was addicted and I couldn’t quit.” 

Falke is a recovering, prescription-drug addict, and the Dwight Way house, a clean and sober home, is owned, run and under continued renovation by a non-profit organization called STEPS (Sobriety Through Education and Peer Support). 

After completing treatment for drug addiction at a program in Oakland, Falke learned about the STEPS house and thought the peer support there would help his recovery.  

But the name STEPS also stands, in a way, at least, for Gary Ferguson, who founded it. A recovering addict, Ferguson lives in the house and is its community director. 

“There were six people here when we started,” Ferguson said. “Currently there are 15 people, and eight available beds.” 

But before the move-in could even happen in April 2000, Ferguson and others had their work cut out  

for them. 

“This place was filthy,” Ferguson said. “Me and three other board members came in and just did a bunch of stuff.” Then (the non-profit organization) Christmas in April came in and worked on the house. 

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson attended the open house STEPS hosted last month, and said he liked what he saw. 

“Many of the programs in the county that offer assistance to individuals with alcohol and drug addictions have been started by grassroots individuals who have themselves gone through some of these challenges,” Carson said in a telephone interview Monday.  

“I’ve known Gary for a long time, and he’s going about all these things the right way.” 

Ferguson explained that there had been some misunderstandings about the kind of house it was when the project was first announced. 

“These are the same people that say they’re liberals, and that’s why they came to Berkeley. But when healthcare comes, and this is healthcare,” he said, pointing down to the floor of the kitchen. “When the reality of healthcare comes, they say, ‘Oh, no, what is this a halfway house?’  

“It’s not a halfway house,” Ferguson said, “and that needs to be made clear. It’s a clean-and-sober house for people who choose to live in a clean and sober environment so they can repair some of the things that have happened in their lives.” 

While it’s not a halfway house, rules are strict. Residents must attend two meetings each week and there is random drug testing. If a resident fails, he can reapply once for readmission after an absence of 30 days, Ferguson said. 

Ferguson, like Falke, says he feels no hostility toward the members of the community. He saw very clearly why misconceptions occur. 

“What I can do for that man is show him, through my life, that I have changed,” Ferguson said. “That I have made other choices, that I am an asset to this community, and that I deserve a place in this community just like he does.”  

Ferguson laughed, relating how one neighbor, seeing all the volunteers working to bring the house together, had had a change of heart. 

“He said, ‘Anybody that’s got that many kinds of people helping them work on their house can’t be all that bad, but we got our eye on you.’ And he smiled.” 

Carson said he hoped that the community even more. 

“If there are private organizations like Christmas in April to help them further improve the facility,” Carson said, “that would go a long way towards creating the right kind of environment. 

“They need an environment that doesn’t take them away from the community, and that gives them support and helps them remain productive people,” Carson said. “We need to identify different segments of the community to work as a board, who could help bring resources to this facility.”  

Like any good program director, Ferguson expressed, in his own genial way, the types of assistance the house is still in need of.  

“There’s a bathroom area that needs to be redone,” Ferguson said. “There’s some electrical work that needs to be done as well. 

“We’re asking for carpenters, plumbers, all people of trades to come and help us restore this house to its original beauty so it can change and become beautiful just like the people who are changing inside of it.” 

Bedroom furniture, garden equipment, the needs are plenty. But Ferguson is confident. 

“I’m hoping people (will see us) and say, ‘You know what, man, those people are really trying, not just talking about it. They’re doing their part.’  

“STEPS is doing its part, so I’m hoping we can get people to come and help,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”  

STEPS can be reached at 540-5459.