“Helping Hands at the Holidays” – A Recap of December’s Facebook Live Event

Last month featured the latest installment of Beach House Center for Recovery’s monthly Facebook Live series, with our very own Micah Robbins moderating a special holiday event themed around giving and service— as the true spirit of this season. Already, nearly 800 people have tuned in to catch the conversation.

Joining the animated discussion were two inspirational guest speakers: Staci Katz and Cindy Singer, both mothers whose sons have battled addiction. (Singer’s son Rory lost his life to an overdose. Katz’ son Dylan is back in recovery after recently relapsing.)

Extending Help and Hope to People with Opiate Addiction

Katz and Singer’s shared experience of grief, pain and heartbreak, and the monumental challenge of walking with a child through addiction, is what has brought them together around a common purpose: offering help and hope to other young people and their families who are facing opiate addiction. 

That mission began around this time last year with a simple “Go Fund Me” campaign, “Our Two Sons,” that ended up raising thousands of dollars to assist young people’s post-rehab and sober living needs. As a show of support at the time, Beach House Center for Recovery also teamed up with Katz and Singer, offering “12 days of giving” in the form of 12 scholarships— (ultimately 13)—to help 13 people who couldn’t afford rehab to get treatment. (Get the full story regarding our “12 Days of Giving,” and hear Katz and Singer share their story.)

“12 Days of Giving” and Other Successes – Taking Stock of the Progress 

One year later, Katz and Singer are as committed as ever to continuing the mission that first began in honor of Singer’s late son Rory. In Friday’s discussion, they spoke with gratitude about the successes that have come their way as they persist in their mission of help and hope:

• Their latest fundraising initiative, a silent auction, which raised “a good amount” of money to help more people pursue recovery 

• Over 2,000 members on their Facebook page
• Phone calls from parents all around the country asking for advice and help
• A “second birthday present for Rory,” in the form of another Go Fund Me campaign to remember Rory by raising more funds to support more young people in recovery
• 13 people who, having gone through Beach House Center for Recovery’s program, are still sober—and still alive—one year later

Helping a Son Through Relapse

Katz and Singer shared another “success story” that was more personal in nature. This story was about how Katz was able to help her son Dillon, who had relapsed after 18 months of being clean, get off the streets and back into rehab. Together, Katz and Singer had hopped into the car and gone looking for Dillon, driving the streets of Boynton Beach, Florida for hours until they found him. (Find out what happened when they found Dillon.)

Katz explained that she had been told, having dealt with her son’s addiction over eight years, that “it’s not normal to go get in the car and find your kid.” Katz went on: “We’re not saying, ‘Go and scrape the streets for someone who doesn’t want help.’” 

In other words, if someone communicates they want help for an addiction, it’s worth scouring the streets to go find and help them.

For anyone who does want help, whether someone with an addiction or a loved one, Katz and Singer shared their phone numbers. (Singer’s number is 561-978-2904. Katz’ number is 561-523-1038.)

“What happens when someone calls you up and says they have no way to live?” asked Singer. “We’re lucky that we have some funds and contacts that we can do something about it.”