Can People Change? The Miracle of The Other Side Academy with Dave Durocher

Dave Durocher is the Executive Director of The Other Side Academy, a training school that saves lives by changing behavior. Before helping to launch The Other Side Academy, Dave was at Delancey Street for eight years where he rose to become the Managing Director of their 250-person Los Angeles facility. 

Dave got into Delancey Street after a Judge gave him a chance to change his life when he was at the brink of a 29-year prison sentence. He first got arrested at age 13 and by the time he was 38, he had been to prison four times for a total of 15 years. 

Today, Dave has moved on to the next chapter in his life. He's the Executive Director of The Other Side Academy in Salt Lake City.

In this episode…

Saving lives by changing behaviors isn’t impossible. However, it requires a lot of hardwork and dedication from the individual and from the support system who will help him get to where he wants to be. This positive shift is the expected outcome from the program of a two and a half year re-education facility. Their members are those with a long history of entanglement with the law; in fact, a lot of those who are working with this facility have been arrested over 25 times and would often be cast out as hopeless. 

But The Other Side Academy is committed to transforming the lives of long term drug addicts who have records for a multitude of other crimes. It’s led by Dave Durocher, who himself got on the bad side of life and was given a chance to change things for the better and turn his entire life around. They not only turn these people’s lives around, they turn them from being inclined to criminal behavior to being productive members of society. The best part? They are doing it for free. does. 

Join Dr. Jeremy Weisz on this episode of the Inspired Insider as he talks with Dave Durocher, the Executive Director at The Other Side Academy, about his powerful and inspiring story on how shifting your mindset can change your life. Dave shares his criminal past and journey to transformation with Dr. Weisz. They also discussed how Dave got into Delancey Street, his initial rejection and what being in the program meant for him, and how his life has changed since then. Stay tuned.