The John Volken Academy in North Salt Lake celebrated a ribbon-cutting in early October on a renovated facility that houses about 55 men working through a free, two-year recovery program.

Program Director John Tervort, himself a graduate, handled the ribbon-cutting honors at the campus at 1130 W. Center St., as first reported by the Davis Journal. The ceremony marked the completion of a major renovation at the site, which took over operations when Red Barn Academy closed in late 2025.

Marketing Manager Ethan Jensen, another former student, told the Davis Journal the academy is not a traditional treatment center. "We're a peer led and peer run facility, following the therapeutic community model," Jensen said.

That means no doctors, no clinicians and no medication-assisted treatment. Every staff member is a program graduate.

Students hold each other accountable over the full two years. Jensen said short stints did not work for him. He called his substance use a response to entitlement and an inability to handle everyday life.

About 80% of the academy's students are sentenced there through the courts in lieu of prison time. The program maintains relationships with jails in Davis, Utah and Salt Lake counties, sending one or two representatives into jail sections each month to talk with inmates about recovery.

Two social enterprises, a moving company and a thrift store, fund the program alongside private and corporate donations. The campus also includes a 40,000-square-foot warehouse housing the thrift operation, pallet auctions, classrooms and skills shops for welding, auto repair and woodworking.

There is no waitlist. Jensen said anyone willing to start can be admitted immediately, whether they walk in off the street or arrive through the courts. The facility has capacity for about 100 and has previously housed 80 to 85.

After completing the two-year program, graduates enter what the academy calls a "workout phase." They continue living on-site rent-free with meals and transportation help for at least three months while building a resume and finding a job.

John Volken Academy was established in 2009 in Canada and also operates locations in Gilbert, Arizona, and Kent, Washington. The North Salt Lake campus is managed by graduates of the former Red Barn Academy, and the staff and student body carried over during the transition.

Residents interested in the program or wanting to refer someone can find contact information at volken.org.