Leading with Purpose - Richard Steinberg (March 2023)

SOCIAL IMPACT

PRESIDENT

RICHARD STEINBERG

This is the first publication in a new series focusing on members of WestCare's leadership team. The following story is adapted from an interview between Mr. Steinberg and Gabriela Swartwood, VP of Marketing and Communication

Richard “Dick” Steinberg is the President of WestCare Foundation where he oversees the endowment and private philanthropy; facility acquisition, construction and management; and the future direction of WestCare’s treatment and community development work When we sat down recently with Dick and asked him about his role as President at WestCare Foundation, he said “My main responsibility is anything that drops, I pick it up!”. Though certainly a modest understatement, on April 1, 2023, Mr Steinberg will be celebrating 45 years of “picking it up” for WestCare and leading an organization that has uplifted untold thousands of people around the world during that span. Under his leadership, WestCare has grown from a single location called the Fitzsimmons House founded 50 years ago in Las Vegas to now having over one-hundred-thirty facilities across sixteen U.S. states, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific.

“The Teamsters came forward with a $50,000 gift to start the Frank E. Fitzsimmons House, or FitzHouse for short,” Dick shared. Today the name “FitzHouse” has been retrofitted for the facility management division of WestCare called FitzHouse Enterprises When WestCare is asked to come into a community and provide services, Dick works closely with the FitzHouse team to find vacated facilities and restore them to once again be useful community resources through funding made possible by the efforts by the Private Fund Development and Grant Development teams

Another example involves the Martin Luther King Blvd. facility in Fresno was dilapidated and had been gutted after several fires. With the help of $1.5M in congressional appropriations, the property was restored and is now home to several vital programs for WestCare California.

Over the last 45 years, there are many examples of how WestCare’s strategy of “saving history and communities” aligns well with the services we offer our clients: We provide them opportunities to be renewed and restored for the betterment of themselves, their families, and their communities The first location that WestCare expanded to was Harris Springs Ranch (HSR) located near Mount Charleston outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Originally a WPA camp that was eventually abandoned, WestCare acquired the HSR property, renovated the facilities, and has been operating there since March 1, 1979 Today HSR is home to a residential substance abuse treatment program for men.

The recently acquired Veteran’s Memorial Building in Newport once housed a gymnasium and hosted many community events but had fallen into disrepair A $750,000 grant has made it possible to put on a new roof and begin construction that will give that facility a new life. “Initially, we're going to have some apartments for moms and their children in that building, with preference given to women Veterans. When they return home from service, they sometimes have real difficulty readjusting due to post-traumatic stress and other issues that they've experienced in combat. I’m proud that we help with those issues as well.”

Dick is a Veteran himself, serving as a Clinical Specialist in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Vietnam War. In addition to supervising Army personnel, facilities and programs, he developed a Substance Abuse Program for his battalion as well as Medical Civic Action Projects assisting elders, women, and children in the local villages of Vietnam

“I like old buildings,” he shared. “But I think part of it for me is you're saving history and communities.”

SUCCESS IS THE FACT THAT WE'VE TOUCHED SO MANY LIVES.

SO THAT'S SUCCESS: saving lives

“The military really taught me a lot about leadership, particularly in unplanned situations because you aren't always planning on being shot at,” Dick shared “I try to lead by example and be a servant leader, knowing that I don't make the difference. It's collectively, we make the difference. I think at WestCare we have created a culture of combined leadership, everybody working together. Our staff has done a phenomenal job in turning people's lives around and I’m proud of the fact that a lot of folks have gone through our programs and are now in leadership roles in our organization.”

Once he returned to America after the war, Dick worked as an Educational Therapy Assistant in the Long Beach Veterans' Hospital where he coordinated the provision of educational programs for patients suffering from spinal cord injuries and/or substance abuse disorders. In 1978, Mr. Steinberg joined Fitzsimmons House’s Therapeutic Community Treatment program and a year later became the Director for the organization that later expanded to Arizona, California, and beyond and is now known as WestCare. Those who have worked by his side over the past 45 years know him as a tireless advocate for “Uplifting the Human Spirit”.

“Well, the hardest part for me over the years was the fact that I was always working. I really stress now to everybody that family has got to come first, and now I do spend that time with family. I so enjoy spending time with my wife, Sharon, younger daughter, Olivia and step-son, Johnny here in Tennessee and, and my older daughter, Katie and my grandkids in Las Vegas I have four beautiful grandchildren – two boys, two girls – and it's just wonderful, just wonderful.”

When asked about what defines success, Dick responded, “I think that success is the fact that we've touched so many lives, and that you know that a lot of people aren't going to die…a lot of families will be reunited…a lot of people will be reemployed and working gainfully, healthy and alive. It's an amazing thing, and every time you meet one more person who has gone through our programs, and you know they're doing well, and it just makes you feel good inside So that's success: saving lives.”

As WestCare celebrates 50 years as an organization (45 of those with Dick at the helm), he reflected on the next 50 years, “I think WestCare will continue to grow after I’m gone. I think we have good people in the pipeline coming up, and I think we have a good balance everywhere. I think you got people wanting to see things grow and looking to take larger leadership roles as they come up the ranks.”