• News

Restore’s Founder Steven Ginsburg: A Man Looking to Fight Drug & Alcohol Addiction in San Diego One Person at a Time

Steven T. Ginsburg is the founder of Restore Detox Center in Southern California, one of San Diego’s leading treatment centers for recovering addicts. Actively involved in the sobriety community since 1988, Steven is passionate about helping others find the freedom from addiction that he found himself decades ago. 

Restore, one of Southern California’s premier addiction recovery facilities, is a faith-based detox facility that welcomes the hurting, the lost, and the broken into a supportive, safe, and inspiring community. Their experienced staff provides evidence-based treatment for substance abuse, as well as help for those with coexisting mental health conditions.

Driven by his long-standing faith in a God of second chances, Steven seeks to offer hope, community, and evidence-based treatment to those who feel like they’re fighting an unwinnable battle alone. Steven knows that struggle firsthand, and his own experiences with addiction give him a distinct humility and empathy that help him connect with clients in life-changing ways. 

Ending Isolation Through Vulnerability

Since breaking free from the grip of addiction as a young man, Steven has prioritized sharing his story around the country to give hope to the suffering and to educate supporters and advocates for addicts. He regularly speaks to congregations, classrooms, leaders, and families, sharing his own story to inspire and embolden communities where addiction can wreak havoc. 

Through his willingness to be honest about where he’s been, Steven gives hope and shatters the destructive stigma about addiction. “Christ came to free us from judgment, shame, and our sins,” he says, reflecting on the impact his faith has had on his willingness to speak openly about his own past struggles with addiction. With passionate conviction and the belief that redemption and grace are available to everyone — no matter how far gone they may feel they are — Steven is a force for healing and wholeness for those who need it most.

An “Alarming Increase” in the Need for High-Quality Addiction Treatment

In all his years of helping clients find freedom from addiction, Steven says he and his team have never seen as great a need as they do now. Ginsburg attributes the increase in depression, addiction, and hopelessness to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and he’s on the front lines helping the hurting find their hope and strength again. 

Steven says the added pressures of the pandemic and the isolation it caused have led to an “alarming increase” in Restore’s work. “We are all as sick as our secrets,” He says, alluding to the isolation that the pandemic caused and the way it fed addiction and self-destructive habits for many. “It’s time to start leaning in, listening to, and providing safe spaces and solid on-ramps [for people] to seek help and see a life of sobriety and wholeness.”

No One Is Immune to the Struggle

Some of the biggest factors that Ginsburg has seen contribute to his clients’ struggles with addiction include financial issues, loneliness, and relational fallout. He acknowledges that these are universal issues, and that that means that anyone can fall into the grip of addiction, often when it’s least expected. 

At Restore, Steven and his team help their clients build up their resiliency while breaking the vicious cycle of addiction. Through therapy and evidence-based treatment, clients at Restore learn how to handle the issues that feed addiction without giving in to the temptation to relapse.

Steven’s own humility serves as an example for anyone struggling with addiction. Recognizing those weaknesses and vulnerabilities, he says, is the key to long-term freedom. It’s important to remember that no one is immune to the struggle, as life’s everyday challenges are what typically fuels the fire of addiction. 

Filling The Void

Released in 2021, Filling the Void is Steven’s resource for anyone struggling with addiction. Built on a foundation of prayer, self-assessment, and deep and abiding faith, this guide exists to help addicts break the cycle of the past and find freedom in the present. 

With vulnerable testimonies from Steven’s own life, this book is sure to inspire, encourage, and challenge anyone stuck in the grip of addiction. With an emphasis on the role God played in Steven’s recovery, the book aims to shine a beacon of hope on the dark places where addiction thrives. It’s a must-read for anyone struggling with addiction, as well as anyone with a loved one in recovery.

Steven’s Life Right Now

Originally from Illinois, Steven and his family currently live in the San Diego area near Restore Detox Centers. Steven is actively involved with treatment and care at Restore while maintaining a robust speaking schedule. He is married to Nicole and has two children, who he’s actively equipping to live lives of humility, passion, and faith. 

To learn more about Restore Detox Centers, visit their website here. To purchase Steven’s book Filling the Void, click here.