Stephen Knight is a hero to many. His organization, Dogs Matter, is a lifeline both for people with substance use disorders and their four-legged friends. On December 8, CNN honored this man’s incredible work by naming him Hero of the Year at the 18th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. When host Laura Coates asked Stephen what this award meant to him, he became very emotional.
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“I represent so much,” he told the CNN anchor. “I represent the recovery community, the dog rescue community, to have a platform to say that we’ve got to do better with our dogs and not have them go to the shelter and not euthanize them.”
He added, “This is going to be able to take us to the next level.”
Dogs Matter, Stephen’s non-profit, helps people overcome addiction by arranging care for their pets while they complete recovery programs. Substance use is an issue that CNN’s Hero of the Year has experienced firsthand. In 2011, his life was completely upended by addiction. CNN tells us that, at the age of 51, he was homeless and living in his car. His mother finally convinced him to go to rehab, and that’s when things began to turn around.
Dogs Matter started with a four-legged friend in need.
During Stephen’s recovery, something happened that completely changed his life. One of his friends was dealing with her own substance use issues, and she had made the difficult decision to surrender her dog to a shelter. As soon as Stephen saw the sweet pooch, named Jayde, he knew that he needed to step in.
“I looked at Jayde, and we looked at each other,” he recalled. “It was one of the most spiritual moments, like ‘I think we might need each other here.'”
This experience made Stephen think about all the people who must be in the same difficult situation as his friend. How many others were struggling to find care for their pets so that they could finally get the help they needed to overcome their addictions? How many dogs were being euthanized in shelters because their owners couldn’t get anyone else to take them in?
Since creating Dogs Matter, Stephen Knight has been able to help over 1,200 pups find safe housing while their owners entered recovery programs. Now that CNN has named him Hero of the Year, that number is only going to grow! Stephen will receive $100,000 as part of his award, as well as $10,000 for being among the Top 5 contenders. Donations to Dogs Matter and the other Top 5 honorees will be matched up to $50,000 by the Elevate Prize Foundation, which will also award an additional $50,000 to the Hero of the Year.
If you would like to donate to Dogs Matter, or any of the other Top 5 contenders for Hero of the Year, you can do so here.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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