They went from rehab and jail to owning a real estate portfolio: ‘You own the hell out of this house!’

As Lidz sees it, these houses are a metaphor for so many of Waterbottle’s worker-owners – himself included – who are in recovery from substance use disorders or have had run-ins with the criminal justice system. “When we reach the bottom, we look like those houses inside,” the 58-year-old explains. “We’re just full of remorse and regret and guilt and pain. And we’re trying to clean all that out, so we can become a vessel of utility and service and spirituality and love.”