Five organizations. One mission.
Empowerment Engineering isn't one program. It's an integrated ecosystem — a for-profit operator, a nonprofit foundation, two employment schools, and a construction company — all aligned around the same belief: that healing can be designed, measured, and scaled.
State of the Art Healing LLC
Where Empowerment Engineering lives.
State of the Art Healing LLC is the operating home of Empowerment Engineering — the for-profit entity that brings the model to life for 1,000 clients and 200 staff members in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SAH provides the full spectrum of recovery and stabilization services: medically assisted treatment, intensive outpatient, certified peer support, comprehensive community support, and six levels of supported housing. Every service is connected through MGM — measuring progress, aligning incentives, and engineering better outcomes every day. SAH is where the theory becomes practice. Where data becomes decisions. Where healing becomes measurable.
State of the Heart Recovery Inc
The nonprofit that started it all.
State of the Heart Recovery Inc is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Paul Chavez that grew from $104,000 in revenue in 2020 to over $20 million by 2025 — proving that the Empowerment Engineering model works at scale. In 2026, SHR transitions its treatment services to SAH and refocuses on its core nonprofit mission: employing people in recovery and identifying people experiencing homelessness in cities across the country. SHR is the community anchor — the part of the ecosystem that gives back without expectation of return. SHR owns and supports Route 66 Barber School and Xperience Music School — two pathways to employment and dignity for people in recovery.
Route 66 Barber School
A license. A skill. A future.
Route 66 Barber School gives people in recovery access to a real career — not a temporary job, but a licensed profession that builds identity, community, and income. Founded by Paul Chavez as part of SHR's employment ecosystem, Route 66 is one of the concrete ways Empowerment Engineering moves people from dependency to dignity. Barbering is community work. Every client who earns their license becomes a trusted presence in their neighborhood — someone people sit down with, talk to, trust. That's not an accident. That's by design.
Xperience Music School
Music as medicine. Purpose as practice.
Xperience Music School is an employment and empowerment pathway within the SHR ecosystem — giving people in recovery access to music education, performance, and the creative expression that is often part of healing. Music teaches discipline, collaboration, and presence. It builds the same skills recovery requires. Xperience is where those two worlds meet — and where some of our community members find their voice for the first time.
Earth Origins Construction LLC
We don't just house people. We rebuild neighborhoods.
Earth Origins Construction LLC has been remodeling and rebuilding properties in Albuquerque for over 20 years. Founded by Paul Chavez, Earth Origins is now deeply integrated into the SAH ecosystem — rehabilitating the buildings that become SAH's six levels of housing. Earth Origins employs approximately 20 people and takes work from outside clients as well. The philosophy is consistent with everything Paul builds: create real value in communities rather than extracting from them. Hire locally. Build well. Leave neighborhoods better than you found them. When SAH needs a new housing facility, Earth Origins builds it. When a neighborhood needs investment, Earth Origins shows up. This is what an integrated ecosystem looks like.
Five organizations. Zero silos. All pointing the same direction.
This is what it looks like when an ecosystem is designed from the start to reinforce itself. Every organization serves the mission. Every dollar stays in the community. Every outcome feeds back into the model.