A former addict who started a nonprofit to foster pets when their owners are seeking substance abuse treatment was named the 2024 CNN Hero of the Year, winning
Stephen Knight will receive over $100,000 to continue his life-changing work.
His Texas organization Dogs Matter covers pet care expenses for the foster family and provides post-release services to help human participants succeed with their sobriety.
Accepting the award, Knight said: “This means everything. I represent so much here: I represent the recovery community, the dog rescue community…This is going to be able to take us to the next level.”
In 2011, at the age of 51, Stephen had lost everything to meth addiction—his family, his job, his home, and nearly his life.
HIV positive, and living out of his car, Knight entered rehab at the behest of his mother—but it was a face-to-face meeting with a little dog that changed his life.
CNN described it this way: “After months of treatment, and at a delicate time in his recovery, a friend showed up at his door in tears. She had relapsed, and in her arms was her beloved dog, Jayde.
“Knight’s friend said no one would take Jayde, and she asked Knight for a ride to a shelter so she could surrender her.”
Knight told CNN, “I looked at Jayde, and we looked at each other.”
“It was one of the most spiritual moments, like ‘I think we might need each other here.’”
Knight realized that some addicts were delaying or forgoing treatment because they could not find suitable housing for their pets—and in 2015 Dogs Matter became a registered nonprofit.
As Knight approaches 14 years sober, his organization has helped more than 1,200 dogs and their owners.
“This means everything. I represent so much here. I represent the recovery community (and) the dog rescue community,” he said during his surprise win at the 2024 CNN awards gala in early December (see below). “This is going to be able to take us to the next level.”
The public can donate via GoFundMe to any of the 5 semi-finalist winners through January 5, 2025, thanks to a partnership with the Elevate Prize Foundation which will match every contribution dollar for dollar, up to $50,000 per hero. So far, over $120,000 has been raised (and the amount will double for the Heroes).
Watch Stephen’s story below—and find more information on the four other Heroes, at CNNHeroes.com.
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