This Monday, October 10^th,I will be celebrating 10 years of sobriety; a lot has changed over that ten years.

In May 2006 I graduated from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University, one of the most prestigious performing arts colleges in the world. My professors, family, and friends all had high expectations for me; they assured me that great things were ahead of me. Yet I found myself in a confusing, depressed, and all around sad disposition.

My life was secretly in shambles - addicted to pharmaceutical drugs and drinking whiskey nightly.

I still don’t remember much of 2006, truth be told, I don’t even remember the graduation ceremony.  I hit my bottom in early October 2006 on a bender between Las Vegas and Florida.  With the help of friends and family, I was able to get checked into a rehab facility and I haven’t had a drink or a drug since.

Since being sober I have started my own company which is now successfully doing business in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and began my Master’s degree at Harvard. On October 22^nd I will be married to my beautiful fiancée, Carrie. I am blessed and extremely lucky.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as me.  When I got sober I had a loving family, supportive friends, and terrific insurance…I still do. Not everyone is as lucky as me, in fact most aren’t. I have been involved with Recovery Resources for over 5 year and, as a Board member, I am honored to be involved with this organization’s mission and values, most notably their desire to help people triumph over mental illness, alcoholism, drugs and other addictions.

When walking up and down the halls at the main office you see happiness, joy, education, and most importantly, hope. The clients at Recovery Resources have hope in tomorrow, hope in their recovery, and, most importantly, hope in themselves. But Recovery Resources needs us, the community, to help them achieve their mission so that people that may not have the support system that I did can have hope as well. Please take a moment to donate to this wonderful organization.

Thank you for offering hope to someone who needs it.

Brian R. Kaufman